Always Ranger's Baby
by CutieZofia
Summary: Stephanie is with Joe and gives birth to Ranger's child. Morelli's not pleased. Not CC-friendly, Babe HEA. Rated for violence, language and maybe a bit of smut in later chapters. Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**New story, and I hope you like it. **

**This one too, is a quite a "horrible" story but I'll promise that it'll be a babe HEA :)**

**Not mine, not making money**

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_**Steph POV**_

"Joe?" I shouted down the stairs. I was in his bedroom, sitting on his bed, nine months pregnant and I think I had a contraction.

"Yea?" he shouted back to me. I stood up and walked down the stairs with the bag with my things for the hospital visit. He was sitting on the couch, watching a ball game. He didn't even look back when I stopped.

"I think I'm in labor." I said to him and he looked at me. "I need to go to the hospital and I can't drive."

"Now? Can't you wait a half an hour? The game's not finished."

Really? I was having my baby and he wanted me to wait? Seriously?

"No I can't. He's coming out now want it or not!" I yelled at him, as a contraction hit me, making me lean into the wall, breathing heavily trying to push the pain away. I heard him sigh and turn the TV off. I took my bag as the contraction ended and followed him as he took the keys and walked to the door. He turned the car on and took of the moment I sat down on the seat.

Sometimes I wondered why I was still with him. I guess it was the feeling of security, my mother improved him not Ranger. My feelings were so much warmer for Ranger than they were for Joe. I rested my hand on my belly, sligthly rubbing it, soothing me and the baby. I loved Joe in a way. I loved the idea of loving him. The baby would tie me down for the rest of my life to him. His blood and my blood ran through his baby and he couldn't deny it. But there was a catch. I wasn't sure if the baby was Joe's. I had spent one lovely night with Ranger, exactly nine months ago. I prayed that it was Joe's, other wise it would get ugly.

He turned to the hospital parking lot, finally offering to take the bag. I stepped in the hospital and imedialtely a wheeled of to the labour room.

It was all too quick. The nurses shouting at me to push, Joe's hand on my shoulder and the excruciating pain. They had no time to give me medication so this baby was a natural baby. I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying desperately to push the goddamn thing out. Then after a moment of silence a piercing cry was heard. I closed my eyes leaning back on the pillow.  
Joe's hands grip thightened on my shoulder certainly leaving marks. I opened my eyes and saw that he was staring at the baby. I looked over at him also and my heart stopped.

The baby was beyond beautiful, and even with all the goo on him you could see that his skin color was way to dark to be Joe's. Time stood still as we stared at the baby, a part of me horrified, a large part of me in love with the small thing. The nurse laid the baby down on my stomach and it stopped screaming. I glanced at Joe and he was staring at me with a terrifying expression. It was pure rage. He breathed heavily, his grip tightening even more. I was certain that I had bruises already, no blood poured down my arm.

"We'll talk about this at home." he spit at me through clenched teeth. He turned his attention at the nurse. "When can she be released?"

"Well, she looks good down here so we don't have to sow. I think that we'll see if the baby eats well and if he does then there is no reason for her to stay. Do you want to try the feeding now?"

No, no,no, nooo. "Yes, she wants." Joe answered. "I'll give you some privacy." then he leaned close and whispered so that the nurse couldn't hear. "Tell anyone and I'll kill him."

He kissed my forehead and left. I was frozen there, horror filling me.

"Are you okay?" the nurse asked.

"Yes. Just everything's so new." I lied to her and she bought it.

"It can be a little puzzling. Now let's try the feeding." As she helped me to get everything right, all I could think of was that maybe he couldn't eat yet. Maybe he wasn't hungry. But he started to suck like a maniac and the nurse seemed pleased.

"He feeds well. I'll go and write your release forms."

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The ride back home was silent. I held the baby near me, not daring to look at Joe. He radiated anger, fury and other negative emotions. I was afraid and the baby could sense it. He was quiet, barely moving. My heart beat was through the roof.

Way too soon he pulled up at the curb and opened my door. He took my hand and squeezed it too tighly. He led me back into the house where he let me go. I put the baby down in it's crib where it laid silently looking at me. Before I could do anything else a fist hit me in the face. I went flying at the wall, hitting it hard and collapsed on the floor. The baby started to cry, a horrible, heart breaking cry.

"What on earth were you thinking at?" Joe yelled at me and kicked me hard in my ribs. I felt the air drain out of my lungs and I was pretty sure that a rib or two were broken. "It's Ranger's! Didn't you think one second? What will we tell?"

Punches and kicks showered over me, hitting me everywhere. The blackness engulfed me.

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I was laying on the floor in the bedroom when I became consciouses again. It was light outside so I had been out for a few hours. Joe was nowhere to be seen. Quietly I stood up and glanced at the mirror beside the bed. I looked horrible. My clothes were gone so I think he must have had sex with me when I was out. Huge bruises where seen on my legs and arms, my ribs where sore and my right eye was blue. My lip was bleeding badly. But this meant noting for me, and I rushed over to the crib.

The baby was still laying there. I picked him up and he begun to cry. I soothed him as I thanked god that he was okay. I sat down on the bed and fed him. The same time he ate I looked around the room. There was a note on the door.

_"Leave the room and I'll kill him first and then you. Same will happen if you tell anyone. If somebody asks you want to connect with _our_ baby. "_

I didn't doubt one second that he wouldn't do that. I was distressed, worrying about every sound in the house, not daring to step outside the door.I pulled a robe on me. Thankfully the baby's things were in the room. I didnt care about myself, all I could think of was to protect the little boy in my arms. He was the world for me now, nothing else mattered. I found my self smiling to my angel, even though it hurt to breath. He was the sun, the universe. Everything revolved around him.

The silence in the room was broken by a sound from my bag. I held my angel in my arms, not daring to let him go, and fished out the little cell phone. One text message from Ranger.

_"U ok? Need to talk about the baby."_

Even with these small words my heart was filled with love. He asked if I was ok. As I started typing I remembered Joe's words and erased the text.

_"Fine. Connecting with the baby. Don't call, can't pick up."_

I felt bad about lying to him but I had to think about my angel. As I pushed sent, the door was thrown up and Joe appeared in the door way. He looked grim and instinctively I stood up, backed away from him. The baby awoke and started to scream.

"Please! Don't hurt the baby, hurt me. He didn't do anything!" I begged to him as he neared. "Please!" My voice was near sobbing, my heart beating way to fast for me to keep up with it.

"Put the baby down." his voice made chills run my spine. I quickly put the baby, my angel, in the crib, it's crys breaking my heart. I backed away from Joe.

"Give me the phone." immediately I gave him the phone, his voice and posture making it clear this wasn't a game. He looked at the message and threw the phone against the wall, making it break into a million pieces. "So you're texting to that son of a bitch! Not enough with cheating nine months ago?"

He made his point clear my punches and kicks. The bruises made myself more sore and this beating was beyond painful. My ribs pocked me from the inside, making me cry out in pain. He kicked and kicked me, every kick harder than the one before. My angles cry's hurt me though more than he could ever do. He screamed and screamed and I wanted to rush to him so bad, but I protected him this way. I laid there on the carpet, taking the hits as a woman, saying nothing, silent tears run down my cheeks.

Then he stopped. I tasted blood in my mouth and my breath came in short gasps. I glanced up at Joe, where he stood above me with a loathing expression.

"Clean up after yourself. Then take a shower, I'll give you ten minutes because I trust you not to do anything dumb. Then you'll get dressed and run to the store to get me some bear and formula for the baby. It stays here with me. Don't want anybody to see him."

He left me and walked downstairs. I calmed my angel and took a quick shower, got dressed and with a heavy heart left him with this monster. I took my car and sped off to the store, picked the items and raced back to the car. There had been no one I knew in the store so I was fast. It hurt to breath but I didn't let that stop me, and in fifteen minutes I was back at Joe's.  
With heavy steps I walked back inside and was greeted with a huge scream from the kitchen. I rushed there and saw my angel laying on the table. Joe was in the living room watching the game. I picked him up and immediately he silenced.

"Bring me a beer, bitch!" Joe yelled from the couch. Quickly I took one and brought it to him. Then I walked back to the kitchen sat down and fed my heart, my angel. As he happily sucked on, I drank a glass of water and ate some leftover chicken. My heart raced and I breathed very heavily, not deeply as it hurt.

This was hell and I had brought my angel into it. My Ángel.

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**_Reviews?_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter! Hope you'll like it!**

**I'm aware that the last chapter's release time was a bit short, but 1-2 days didn't fit in the story. Also I like to think that Joe being all famous and stuff, made the nurse push the rules a bit :)**

**Thank you for the reviews, you are all to kind! **

**Not mine, not making money**

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_**Stephanie POV**_

Days turned into weeks as me and my angel stayed at the monster's lair. Joe kept on hitting me, kicking me and taking his anger out on me. He had told almost every one that I had post partum depression and didn't want to leave the house. Also the baby had some sort of immune disorder so nobody were allowed to visit us. Everybody seemed okay with that, said that it was normal.

All except for me. I was the only one who knew the truth. I knew about the beatings and the sexual abuse. I knew. The worst part was that I didn't have the courage to tell anyone. I couldn't risk my baby's future, his security. So I took the beatings, not a single tear leaking from my eyes. Nothing. All I focused was that this was necessary for my angel to have a future. Hopefully a good one.

Every night I was given the chance of eating. Usually I couldn't eat much just half a toast and drank a lot . I became soon a mere skeleton of my former self, I lost huge amounts of weight. Soon I needed to start with the formula for the baby. We were locked in the bedroom, once every three days I got to take a shower and the baby got a bath. Even then Joe came with us into the bathroom. I was sore allover, huge black, blue, green and yellow bruises covered my body. I was sure that at least three ribs were broken, poking me from the inside. My left little finger was that too, I was sure. My lips were red, broken and cut. My eyes were black, huge bags forming underneath them. I didn't sleep. I stayed awake and guarded my angel. I was determined to protect his life, even at the cost of my own.

Joe stayed downstairs, guarding that I didn't run away or call for help. He slept on the couch, always drunk and properly also on drugs. I still couldn't figure out why I had been in love with this man. He had always shown signs which pointed at his family, never ever trust a Morelli-man. Always a mean drunk, to possessive and now when I looked back at it, he had shown his violent side as well. I ignored it then but now it felt stupid. We had fought about something unnecessary and he had hit me. I loved him so I didn't mind. I told everyone that I had fallen in the stairs and everybody believed me. Except for Ranger. He knew that I lied but I got him to promise he wouldn't do anything. He hadn't liked that but had respected my wish.

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That day started with my little angelito's (*) scream. Quickly I silenced it to make sure that Joe didn't wake. It was just over six and I hadn't slept at all, I stayed in a tense position, sitting on the bed in front of the crib. I picked him up and calmed him. I sat down and fed him, always listening to any sounds. He sucked on, almost a little tense too.

the sounds of foot steps alarmed me. I backed away from the door to the back corner, holding the baby tightly against me. Joe opened the door, dressed in working clothes, eyes bloodshot from the liqueur. He looked at me with loathing and leaned against the door frame.

"I have to go to work. You stay here or bad things will happen. I will know if you leave this room, you know that. Don't tempt fate."

My brain was buzzing, processing the information. A plan formed in my mind.

"Can I give the baby a bath today? I promise I wont do anything. I will only use the bathroom and then come back to the bedroom. No more than 20 minutes. Please.." I added a little fear in the voice, assuring him that I wasn't going anywhere

He looked at me, thinking that over.

"Fine. No more than 20 minutes. I'll know. I have to go." he said and turned around. "Remember what I said bitch!"

As if I could forget. His words rang in my head all the time, louder every time I closed my eyes. I hugged my angel closer and walked to the window to see him walk to his car. He stopped and waved at me. Looking good for the neighbours. I waved back, thinking this would save me from a huge beating later tonight. If my plan didn't work.

As soon as he pulled away I ran to the bathroom. I laid the baby down on the soft carpet, then rummaged through the cupboard underneath the sink. Every since that time one of my skips broke into Joe's, after me, I had a cellphone behind the bleach. Joe never bothered to check there.

My angel giggled as I pulled the phone out. He was always so happy when Joe was away. I smiled to him as he wiggled on the carpet. I picked him up, wet his hair in the sink, tucking the phone inside his shirt. I was sure that Joe monitored the hall. I didn't want to take that risk. I walked back to the bedroom and laid him down in the crib. I picked up the phone and the bag I had. I dialed the number.

"Yo."

His voice made me almost collapse. It was the voice of God, in this personal hell. Even with one word he made my heart start to beat again.

"Babe?"

My voice didn't seem to work. I sat down on the bed and breathed slowly, gaining the strenght.

"Hi." It felt like such a anti-climax.

"Babe. You okay?" he sounded worried and I grabbed onto the phone tighter, glancing at my baby, giggling in the crib.

"No." Silence. "Can you pick me up?"

"Sure. Are you at Joe's?" I could hear that he was moving. I smiled. My knight in shiny Porsche would come and get us.

"Yeah. Please hurry, don't pull up at the front, use the backdoor. We're in the bedroom."

As he hung up, I stood up and quickly packed the little bag with the baby's stuff. Formula, clothes and diapers. Ranger would have clothes for me at seventh. I quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, winching at the pain it brought, the t-shirt making my eyes water. I dressed him as well with warm clothes. I glanced at the watch. 10 minutes. I glanced if I had any important things but found nothing.

My angel was silent, looking at the world with huge eyes. I gave him a pacifier and waited. Not even one minute passed before the door opened. For a moment I feared it was Joe but thankfully it was Ranger. I took the baby and rushed past him with my bag.

"Come on! He has a camera in the hall!" I shouted back to Ranger as I flew down the stairs. My angel looked at me as we rushed to the back yard. Ranger was following me closely behind. I felt the familiar pain in my lungs and ribs as I almost ran through the yard, getting into the passenger seat. I glanced back and saw that Lester and Tank get into the back. I smiled at them and Ranger hopped inside. He glanced at me.

"Drive!" I exclaimed and held my angel close to me as the took of. He looked back at Lester with huge eyes, the pacifier flying out of his mouth. I patted his back. Ranger glanced at us again. I was sure he couldn't see angelito properly with all his clothes and hat.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not now. Maybe later." I said still looking at my angel. He was safe. I was safe. The adrenaline flow slowed down and I relaxed. All the lost sleep caught up with me but I held my eyes open. It was too soon to celebrate. We pulled into the garage and I got up.

I held my angel on my left side, ignoring the dull pain it brought up in my ribs. I took my bag and walked towards the elevator. Ranger took the bag and I adjusted the baby in my arms. I fished another pacifier from my pocket and put it in his mouth. He looked pleased. Lester and Tank followed us to the elevator, but exited at fifth. We rode in complete silence up to seventh.

He opened the door for me and I walked to the bedroom, laid angelito down and took his clothes away, then walked into the bathroom, locking myself in.

"Babe?"

"I'm fine, just give us a moment!" I told him through the door.

I washed my baby, getting rid of all the pain he had experienced in his short life. I smiled as he seemed to enjoy the warm water. I dried him and fed him, sitting on the toilet seat. Soon he fell asleep. I smiled at the small angel sleeping in my arms, with the most peaceful expression. I walked back into the bedroom. Ranger sat on the bed, arms in his lap looking at me. I laid my angelito down on the bed beside him and threw a small blanket over him.

"Who's this?" Ranger asked me and I looked at him. He was staring at my angel. I knew what he saw. He saw himself. I laid down on the bed, making sure he couldn't fall of and closed my eyes.

"This is Ricardo Mateo. Your son." Then the loss of sleep caught up on me and I was out like my baby. I had a smile on my face.

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**Angelito**: Little angel

**Ricardo **:Brave ruler

**Mateo:** Gift from God

**Reviews? Like it, hate it?**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so so so so sorry for ignoring you for so long! I've been so busy with another test week and a whole book to write for my Swedish teacher. A _whole book_ in two weeks! **

**Anyway so here's chapter three! Hopefully you won't hate me for the ending. It's not so simple with Morelli. **

**Please review as I'm totally addicted to them! And thank you for your previous ones! They totally make my day!  
**

**Not mine, not making money.**

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_Stephanie POV_

I laid somewhere warm and soft. I felt at peace, soft sheets brushing against me, warm pillow underneath my head. The scent of Ranger, bvlgari and coffee made me smile.

Then the reality hit me and I lunged out of the bed. It was dark in the bedroom and I couldn't see my angelito nowhere. I panicked and checked the bed again. No screams were heard, my breathing labored. I stood there trying to figure things out as a little giggle was heard from the living room.

I walked silently to the door and leaned against the frame, smiling at the sight in front of my eyes. Carlos was sitting on the light couch and my angelito giggled like a maniac to him. He bounced his son on his knee, singing something softly in Spanish. He was smiling to him, clear love radiating from his face. My angelito was jumping up and down when Carlos stopped the bouncing. Carlos laughed and kissed his fore head.

"Te amo mi único hijo. Te quiero y tu madre con todo mi corazón. Estoy tan feliz de que estés aquí conmigo. *****" he murmured to the little angel, _our_ little angel.

It was light outside, almost noon I guess. As I slightly adjusted myself Carlos' head turned around and he looked at me. Our eyes locked and he smiled slightly at me. It was not one of those small one's either. It was a full-smile. Like a normal person would smile.

"Hey." I said to him.

"Hey."

Angelito started to stir in his lap because he wasn't the center of the attention anymore. Ranger locked back at him and bounced him lightly. He started to giggle again and I started to smile. This little angel could make me happy anywhere. This was the home I had missed the last months. Away from the horror and wariness, to this heaven. It felt safe and warm, like home. And the best is that this gorgeous man was here.

"He's quite special, isn't he?" I asked Carlos and walked over to the couch and sat down beside him. He looked at me, still bouncing our angel.

"He is." he replied and studied my face carefully.

"You're not mad are you?" I asked him when I realized that he wasn't going to say anything.

"How can I be?" he asked me and took my hand. "You gave birth to my son."

"But I didn't tell you..."

"Stop it right there! You hadn't the chance to tell me. I know that." he sighed deeply when he looked at me. "I had Bobby check you out while you were asleep."

"Well?"

"Bruising. Cuts. Hairline fracture in two ribs, right arm and ankle. Dehydration, not talking about mental scars. Bad..." he looked so sad when he said this. I leaned in and rested my head on his shoulder and let little Ric suck on my finger.

"Don't be sad. It kills me to see you sad. I'm fine now when we're here with you. For the first time since I gave birth I was able to sleep again without worrying about Angelito. I knew that he would be okay here with you so I didn't have to stay up all night watching the door, terrified about every sound I heard. I knew you would take care of me and our son."

Carlos looked at me silently and brushed my hand. I continued to look at my angel, ignoring the silent plea to look up into his eyes. I knew that would make the dam burst and that I wouldn't be able to stop crying for at least three hours. I didn't want to do that in front of my baby, I had to remain strong for him.

"Babe, please look at me." he pleaded silently and my heart ached about ignoring him. I stood quickly up.

"I need to feed him. And eat something."

Carlos' eyes looked sad but he knew not to press it. I would talk to him when I needed to. I leaned in and picked Ricardo up and marched to the kitchen while silently talking to him. Carlos followed me totally silent. I could feel his presence without looking back to see him. I opened the fridge and took the first thing I saw in there, a ham sandwich. I poured myself a glass of water and sat down while Carlos leaned at the counter. I ignored his gaze and settled Ricardo in my lap, making myself as comfortable as possible. As he started to eat I took my sandwich and gulped it down in a mere second. Then I drank the water. Carlos had put another sandwich in front of me and I ate that one too. I looked him and smiled, he smiled back at me.

I glanced down when I noticed that Ricardo wasn't eating as well as he had before. I smiled at the boy asleep in my arms. I looked up at Carlos.

"I bought a crib for him today." he said and I followed him into the bedroom. There in the corner was the most beautiful crib ever. It was made out of light wood and light green sheets were made inside. A little blue teddy bear was sitting in the corner of the crib. I smiled at Carlos.

"It's wonderful! Thank you."

I laid Ricardo down and leaned against Carlos' strong chest. He put his arms around me, hugging me closer to him. I heard and felt him sigh deeply.

"I love you babe."

"I love you too." I noticed that I meant that, I was not just saying that because he said it. He hugged me closer if possible. "And thank you again for all of this."

"It means so much for me to be able to help you and our son."

I looked at the little angel sleeping in the crib. I felt the normal pull towards him, to help him, to be with him. It was the strongest feeling I had ever felt, it was even greater than the feelings I had for Carlos. And that was saying something.

We stayed there for forever or so it felt like. Our moment was interrupted by a phone ringing. It took us a while to realize that it was mine. I walked over to my bag and walked over to the living room to not disturb our angel. Carlos remained with him and I smiled at that. He loved him as well.

I answered the phone.

"Hello, cupcake. I told you I would know if you left the house. I am very angry with you and I expect you to do what I tell you to. Firstly if you tell anyone, especially that bastard Ranger or any of his ridiculous team I'll kill a special guest I have here with me for you."

A heartbreaking woman's scream was heard and after that a sob. The worst part was that I knew the voice.

"Connie?"

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*****I love you my only son. I love you and your mother with all of my heart. I am so happy that you are here with me. (google translate, don't hate the translation if it's not correct.)

**Reviews? Hate me? :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter 4 for you! Hopefully you'll like it :)**

**Thank you for your lovely reviews, they mean so much for me :)**

**Also, this has nothing to do with the story, I'm going to lead a camp for 7-8 year old's this summer and the theme is animals. Do you guys have any ideas for fun games, crafts etc? We're already going to see some sheeps and cows as well as a visit to the local vet. Please PM me is you have ideas, I would be very grateful.  
**

**Not mine, not making money**

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_**Stephanie POV**_

Thoughts raced through my brain as I tried to focus while she was screaming at the other side of the line. I sat down and stared in disbelief at the carpet. Why? Why Connie? This was between him and me and it was unnecessary to pull Connie into this mess. The screaming stopped and was replaced by heavy breathing. Breathing I loathed most in the world.

"You'll do exactly as I say." he said to me. The hairs on my neck stood up. I couldn't believe how I could have been together with this monster. "Now you'll say "Really? What's happened?" Say it like you mean it or else she will have to endure some more pain. Say it now!"

"Really? What's happened?" I whispered, praying that he didn't hear the pain in my voice.

"Wow, good touch there with the pain-thing. Now you'll listen to me. You're going to say that Connie's in the hospital and you must check on her. You'll drive a car to the hospital parking lot and leave your purse and phone there with the car you drove there. I know he has bugs on all of those. Now say "When can I be over?" Say it!"

"When can I be over?" I asked and my voice broke. Thoughts raced through my brain, the top most was that he wasn't kidding with this. I would have to obey him and his rules, otherwise she might not make it.

"Good. Now there's a car waiting for you at the hospital, it's a green Toyota. Instructions are in the glove box. You'll have fifteen minutes to get to the hospital. Say "Thank you, I'll be over.""

"Thank you I'll be over." My voice sounded very sad, almost like I was crying. I saw that Carlos stood by the bedroom door, waiting to talk to me. This made my heart break, I couldn't tell him what I was about to do.

"Very good. I'll be looking forward to see you again. Now hang up."

I did as he said and paused only for a second. Then I jumped up from the couch and raced towards the door. Carlos reached me as I was at the elevator. He looked confused and I stared quickly on the floor. He would know it, if I looked into his eyes. He would, so no taking chances there. He grabbed my arm.

"Connie's at the hospital and they need me there. I'll be back soon. Kiss Ric for me" I said to him as the elevator doors opened.

"Want somebody to come with you?" he asked, still holding tightly onto me. I knew that he suspected something. It was heart breaking to say no to that.

"No need." I answered. "You have your tracking devices. And somebody needs to be with Ric. He's not good with strange men. Don't worry, honey, I'll be back soon." I couldn't look at him.

I was surpriced that my voice was past the shock and fear. It was almost stable now, almost like it usually is. Carlos looked at me and then let me go. The elevator doors closed and I was on my way to the monster's lair. Weird thing was that I didn't care about that. All I cared about was Ric, but he was upstairs with his dad so no worries there, and Connie. I wanted to rescue her so bad, she was one of my best friends and she didn't deserve what that bastard was doing.

I jumped into the first car I saw at the garage, Carlos' silver Porsche. I raced out of the garage and glanced at the watch. 4.12 pm. I had ten minutes left. The hospital was fifteen minutes away. I stepped on the gas pedal and drove like a maniac towards the hospital. I nearly ran over three persons and almost had a major accident but with 2 minutes to spare I parked at the parking lot. I left my purse and phone on the passenger seat and stood out of the car. I glanced across the lot and found what I was looking for in the corner furthest away. I ran towards it, hoping that I would make it in time. I reached the car and tried the door. Unlocked. I threw myself in as a phone started to ring on the passenger side floor. I picked it up and after a moment of hesitation, answered it.

"Well done, cupcake. I knew you had it in you. Now the instructions will lead you to an abandoned lot outside Route 1. You will leave this car there and change for another. This car will be behind the shed. You have 30 minutes to get there and change cars."

He hung up on me and I waisted no time in getting out of the lot. I still heard Connie's screams in my mind and stepped on the pedal. While I was driving I pulled out the instructions. As I had suspected I knew the place. I used to drive there when I was a kid. I felt my heart race as I raced through the city towards the lot. The stress was making me function better, I could see and hear better and my reflexes where so much better. I was gripping the wheel so hard that my knuckles were white, so hard it was almost painful. But in my state of stress I couldn't even feel the pain. My mind was with Connie, alone with that bastard.

I had five minutes to spare as I stopped at the abandoned lot. I glanced around and saw the shed. I drove the car towards it and realized after I was out of it that it was completely shielded from view in that corner. I hadn't time to drive it back where it would be seen, so I ran to the second car. It was a black Mitsubishi and as I hopped in another phone rang on the floor. I picked it up.

"Good girl. I'm very pleased with you. Your next instructions are in the glove box. 50 minutes. A red pick-up"

I started the car and looked at the instructions. An office building in Philadelphia. I stepped on the pedal and raced to Route 1 and then to 95. I glanced at the watch and thought about Carlos. Would he have noticed yet? Would he try to find me? Where would my Angelito be? The questions took never end.

After 40 minutes I exited the highway and started to locate the building. Thankfully it wasn't too hard to seek, and I saw the pick-up in the parking lot behind the building. I changed cars and waited for the phone to ring.

"Very good, you're early. Now this is your final route. Instructions in glove box, read them. You have 20 minutes. See you soon!"

I followed the instructions and after fifteen minutes I exited the main road to a small dirt road. The woods surrounded the place and after just a couple of minutes of driving the noise from the main road wasn't audiable. My heart was racing as I parked in front of an old house. It looked like it would collapse at any moment and I could see that there was major holes on the roof. I thought about Connie and quickly made my way to the door. Hesitantly I knocked on the door and waited. After a couple of minutes of waiting the door was opened and I stared the monster into his eyes.

"Glad to see you cupcake. The boys have missed you."

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**Reviews? Good, bad? Want Ranger's POV?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5 after a very long pause. I'm sorry about that. Have been busy with school, the elections and overall writer's block. It sucks I know...**

**Thank you for your lovely reviews, keep 'em up?**

**Not mine, not making money.**

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_**Ranger POV**_

The moment her phone rung I knew something was wrong. Her whole posture went rigid and her breathing more controlled. I knew it was Joe. Nobody else made her react that way. I felt my jaw clench and also I controlled my breathing. I guessed it was one of his sick games, babe was probably told not to tell me at all. I knew she wouldn't, she was too afraid of this sick bastard.

"Really? What's happened?" she whispered to the phone and her grip hardened. I felt the rush to run over there and take the phone away but I resisted that knowing this was our only chance of catching him. As bad as I felt for babe I couldn't tell her that this was a part of a plan. We all knew that Joe would call her and had decided to track him down when he did. I backed away and called Tank.

"It's started." I said to him with a silent voice, not wanting to wake the baby up or that babe would hear it. Tank hung up and I stood for a moment lost in my thoughts. What if this wasn't a good idea? What if she got hurt? I knew I couldn't live with myself if she did. It would be my fault and my fault only. I looked at the little miracle in my life. This little boy had my heart in a firm grip, I knew I would do whatever for him. He had been in my life for a mere week but had me tightly wrapped around his little finger. Who would have known that Carlos Manoso, one of the most dangerous men in the world would be so vurneable when it came to Ric and Babe. They both meant the world to me. I sighed with a smile. Then I put my blank face on and went back to the bedroom doorway.

"Thank you. I'll be over." she said and my heart broke to the sound of her voice. Crying. Her eyes were red and her nose puffy but I didn't care, she was perfect to me. Without any warning she jumped up and rushed towards the door completely surprising me. She was at the elevator before I got the chance to blink. With a couple of large steps I stood beside her, reaching out to touch her arm. She jumped at the touch, the electricity between us. She glanced quickly at me but lowered her glance, not looking at me, hiding her powerful eyes.

"Connie's at the hospital and they need me there. I'll be back soon. Kiss Ric for me" she said to me just as the doors opened. She took one more glance and then stepped into the elevator. She was still looking at her shoes.

"Want somebody to come with you?" I asked even though I knew she wouldn't. This was something that she needed to do alone. I wanted to shield her from this, protect her but I knew that the only way I could do that was to let her go. I didn't let go of her arm, I squeezed it slightly.

"No need. You have your tracking devices. And somebody needs to be with Ric. He's not good with strange men. Don't worry, honey, I'll be back soon."

Her voice could maybe fool somebody else but not me. I heard the fear and shock beneath all that calmness. I looked at the beautiful woman in my life and slowly let go of her arm. I wondered if this was the last time I saw her, if this was the right choice and what would happen to all of us if something happened. The doors closed and pulled me apart from Stephanie. It was almost like physical pain to be separated from her, even more now when I knew she was in danger.

As the elevator made it's way downstairs I was already on line with Tank. He was going to lead this operation on the street. I had everyone of my men, with the exception of Woody who was on monitor duty, out on the street in different cars, following her every move. I knew that Joe would know if the same car followed her all the time so I had multiple cars, different colors and shapes. I was positive that he couldn't know that we were following her.

I was reassured that she was monitored and I hung up. Now there was nothing more than to wait. Before little Ric I would have lead the troops but now my universe had shifted and babe wasn't the only important person in my life. That little boy sleeping in my bedroom had so much power over me that I thought was impossible. Yet still possible. This was different than it was with Rachel and Julie. I hadn't loved Rachel, that was purely a mistake. I loved Julie no doubt of that but this was just so diffrent. It was babe's baby, our baby. Our angel. Our miracle. Back then it had been her thing, I had just started it. I had no hard feelings against her but I_ love_ Stephanie with my whole heart.

I made my way back to the bedroom, lifted the baby and laid down on the bed with him. His eyes was softly closed, mouth slightly open, his breathing heavy from the sleep. He hadn't reacted in any way to the change of bed. His small fingers grasped hold of my index finger, fingertips barely able to touch. I smiled as he grabbed on, his grip very powerful for his age. He was _my_ son.

I had known it was my baby since the birth. Something had shifted in my heart even before the guys had told me the rumors. Lester's nephew's girlfriends mother was babe's nurse when she was in hospital. The rumor of a baby to dark to be Joe's. A baby with her eyes and my colour. A baby with our strenght, made from us. At that moment my love to my babe became stronger. Also my worry had increased, the worry about Morelli's abusive history and his possessiveness about Stephanie.

Those day's when I hadn't heard from her had been hell. Every moment of not knowing was pure agony. Not knowing if she was alive and well, not knowing about the baby. Not knowing is a bitch. I hadn't been to much use those days for my guys. I had been a nervous wreck, pacing around my office or apartment. Tank had stepped up and taken the responsibility. He had made me proud, like he always did.

Then she had called me and my heart had broke when I heard her voice. That was nothing in comparison with her looks. She looked like hell. Bruises, hair everywhere, dark circles around her eyes, cuts and the little package in her arms. My eyes zoomed into it, the world faded away for that little moment. Then she moved, ran to the car completely puzzling us. Her frightful expression answered every question, it was Morelli. And yes, it was mine.

I couldn't see him at all before she laid him down on the bed. He was perfect, the perfect mixture of her and me. My heart grew in size, love for them filling me. She fell asleep on the bed soon after that. I sat there looking at the two for a time and noticed that the little guy was beginning to stir. I picked him up and walked to the kitchen, got my phone and rang Bobby. I fed the baby and changed it diapers and noticed that I loved being a father. A real father. With Julie I hadn't had the chance, I was going to take everything out of this experience.

Bobby walked in and checked babe. I remained in the kitchen, after a while moving to the living room and onto the couch. I sat down and started to bounce the little angel in my lap. He giggled and I smiled back at him. Soon Bobby returned looking grim. I got the list of her injuries and felt pure rage towards the bastard. A giggle redirected my thoughts and I smiled down.

"Is this him?" Bobby had asked me and I smiled to him as well.

"Yes, this is Ricardo Mateo. My son."

"He looks like you two." Bobby had answered and kissed the top of his head when he had left, leaving me alone with little Ric and babe. I let her sleep, she was out for nearly 15 hours. I took care of Ric, not really knowing where I had learned all this. I smiled all the time. I was the luckiest guy ever.

Then became the time to make plans. Even though I disliked the plan, I had to go with it. It was the only which might work. She would lead us to him, we would eliminated him and live happily ever after, in the words of Lester. Now I prayed it would work.

My daydreams was interrupted by a phone ringing. I silenced it quickly, glancing down and sighing when Ric didn't stir.

"Yo." I answered and was greeted with a lot of background noise. It sounded like something was on... fire?

"Yo, boss." It was Tank. I became worried about the noise, like burning, people screaming and chaos.

"Report." I barked making my way to the door way. I continued to look at our baby, not wanting to loose him.

"We have a situation here."

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	6. Chapter 6

_**Updated!**_

_**Had to change some of the times as I realized that they were false. Sorry for the inconvenience!  
**_

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_**Ranger POV**_

"A situation? What do you mean?" I asked him, maybe a bit too loudly. I rushed to the living room and found what I had been looking for, her phone in her purse she had left on the couch. I picked babe's phone and called Ella as I listened to Tank, searched the apartment for my gun and finally found it. Ric was still asleep in the bedroom and I paused at the door way to look at him. I envied him, he looked so peaceful while I was a nervous wreck, thinking about the "situation" and what it could mean. It could mean that she or somebody else was dead, or injured. Or that they can't find her. There might be a hostage situation. I envied the little angel sleeping in his bed, totally unaware of what was happening.

"We didn't get to the door after she had gone in. There was some massive gunfire and it took almost an hour to get inside. We kicked in the door and searched the apartment and what we found is quite extraordinary." Tank said to me and I asked if Ella could watch Ric when I was away. I hung up on her and returned my attention to Tank.

"What?" I was beginning to feel annoiyed. Why couldn't he just say it? The sound of something burning remained in the background.

"Morelli. He's dead, laying on the living room carpet. Somebody shot him straight between his eyes, execution style. No sign of Stephanie but we found a purse somebody recognized as Connies. No other sign of her either."

"What's that noise?" I asked Tank as I paced in the living room waiting for Ella. "What's burning?"

"The house. We're working on putting it out right now. We don't know what happened as it was already burning as we got there."

"Somebody tried to cover up their tracks. Right, send me the address and I'll be over." I said as Ella stepped out of the elevator. I hung up on Tank and gave the instructions to Ella. She looked worried as I rushed to the garage.

"Be careful!" she yelled after me and I could feel that she meant it. I counted myself as lucky to have her working for me, being like a second mother to me and now to my whole family. She was so pleased to watch Ric as we were away. I knew that he would be in good hands; nothing would happen to him while she was with him. Now I could turn my attention to babe.

As I jumped into the Porsche I realized how long the drive was going to be. I drove in autopilot, not really knowing where I was, how I got there and where I was going. My thoughts were concentrated in finding my babe, the love of my life and the mother of my son. She was my everything and I couldn't stand losing her. This was totally my fault, I send her there and wasn't even there myself. I punched the steering wheel and hit the gas pedal. I was going to save my babe and I didn't care who or how many I would have to hurt to do that. I was going to bring my babe back home to be with me and Ric. We were going to be a happy family

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_**Stephanie POV**_

I looked like hell. My clothes were torn and my cheeks were colored black with the mascara. My cheast hurt, the running wasn't doing any good to the broken ribs or any other part of me that was broken. Still I didn't have another chance but to run. _They were following us_. Connie was running beside me, in only underwear. Huge black marks were already visible on her abdomen, legs and arms but the marks were the rope had cut her neck were the most horrible. Her hair was burnt, blisters on her naked feet and arms, not to mention her face. Her right eye was swollen shut and her lip was torn. She must be in terrible agony but continued to run beside me, now and then glancing behind us to make sure we weren't followed.

I looked back and terror rose in my throat. _They were following us_. My eyes as wide as they could be, I dragged Connie with me as I ran away from the road and into the dense forest. Sticks and stones cut our feet, the bushes shreading our remaining clothes. I was in survival mode, not stopping at anything to keep us safe. The trees became higher and the temperature sunk. We didn't have anything with us with the exception of the gun I had in my bloody hands. I jumped over a fallen tree and fell. Connie stopped to look at me and I rose quickly back up. My knees and palms were bloody now too, the uneven surface cutting them as I fell. I could feel that something wasn't right with my left ankle but didn't have time to check what it was. I limped forward, looking desperately for a place to hide in. A cave maybe? Not so near, though, _they_ were too close.

They would get Connie over my dead body; I thought and glanced back, not seeing anybody. That didn't mean anything. I continued to run and held the gun closer to my blood soaked shirt. _Over my dead body, _I chanted over and over again. These words gave me the fuel to keep on running through the woods with Connie. Nobody was going to get us. _Nobody._


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry again for not updating for ages. I could go on and make excuses but in all honesty I had no motivation for anything. I'm sorry.**

**Thank you for the reviews and kind words! It means the world to me. **

**Not mine, not making money**

**_In italics_: from Hard eight by Janet Evanovich**

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Running is a weird thing. I have avoid3ed running my whole life with various results. I do it because I have to, not because I like to do it. I mean who in their right mind like to run for no reason at all (if you don't count fitting into your jeans.) The only time I run voluntarily is when I'm catching FTA's and that is because if I don't, I won't have a home anymore. The second time is when I run with Ranger. I make a big deal about having to run with him but actually I enjoy that. With him even the thing I hate the most is enjoyable. And maybe because I get to look at him when he's running has a slight importance. When he runs he looks free, handsome and like he could run forever. Not like me, sweating, panting and swearing when I get the stabbing feeling in my sides. He looks like God made him to run, me to eat doughnuts.

But here I am in the dense forest running like a dear. Gracefully I jump over the fallen trees and the roots sticking out of the soil. Connie is running beside's me, clearly not as gracefully as I am. In her defense, she is hurt. Her ankle is twisted and her knee is bleeding badly from a previous fall.

My hair whips around as we continue to put distance between us and the cabin of death. Every time I close my eyes I can see Morelli's dead eyes stare at me from beyond the grave. they looked like they blamed me for what happened and I did too. I mean if I hadn't been there he might be still alive. This whole mess was totally my fault.

In the panic of getting out alive I had been able to grab matches and Joe's old jacket. I figured these would be good to have if and when we had to stay over night in the forest.

We ran for several hours and only then did we stop both panting from the stress and the journey. No other noise was heard and I was relieved. We had stopped in a small clearing and when I looked up I could see that the sun was heading down. I had seen so many programs on the TV, that I knew we had to quickly find a place to stay in for the night. Obviously there wasn't any hotels or any other buildings near us and I wasn't sure if it would be safe to stay in them. So I told Connie to gather food and wood from the area as I searched for a quiet place to stay in.

I headed towards the cliff nearby. It towered over me and after walking a bit more I found a little cave hidden from view by some large stones and huge pine trees. I poked my head in and decided that this was going to be our home at least tonight. I walked back to the clearing and helped Connie find some food.

After about a half an hour we had plenty of berries and other food from the forest and we headed for the cave. Connie agreed with me that this was the best place for us this night, and we sat down and ate some berries. We were both quiet and neither of us had really an appetite.

The woods started to get darker and colder but we didn't want to draw any more attention to us that wasn't necessary. So starting a fire was out of the question. We decided to sleep in turns with Connie starting. She fell asleep quickly and I adjusted myself near the entrance to the cave so I could see everything but still hidden from view. You could not see or hear us if you weren't a foot away. As it got darker I got lost in my thoughts, or more like memories.

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_He moved against me and desire skittered through my stomach and burned low in my belly. He was hard everywhere. His thigh, his gun... everything was hard._

_He lowered his head and kissed my neck. He touched his tongue to the place he just kissed. And then he kissed it again. His hand slid up my t-shirt, his palm heating my skin, his fingers at the base of my breast._

_"Pay-up time" he said. " I'm collecting the debt."_

_I almost collapsed on the floor._

_He took my hand and tugged me toward the bedroom. "The movie" I said. "The best part is coming up." I all honesty, I couldn't remember a single thing about the movie. Not the name or anyone in it._

_He was standing close, his face inches from mine, his hand at the back of my neck. "We're going to do this, babe." he said. "It's going to be good." And then he kissed me. The kiss deepened, became more demanding, more intimate._

_I had my hand splayed over his chest, and I felt the toned muscle under my hands, felt his heart beating. So he has a heart, I thought. That's a good sign. He must be at least part human._

_He broke from the kiss and pushed me into the bedroom. He kicked his boots off, dropped his gun belt, and stripped. The light was low, but it was enough to see that what Ranger promised in SWAT clothes was kept when the clothes were shed. He was all firm muscle and smooth dark skin. His body was in perfect proportion. His eyes were intense and focused._

_He peeled my clothes off and wrangled me onto the bed. And then suddenly he was inside me. He once told me that time spent with him would ruin me for all other men. When he had said it, I thought it was an outrageous threat. I no longer thought it outrageous._

_We lay together for a while when we were done. Finally he ran his hand the lenght of my body. "It's time." he said._

_"Now what?"_

_"You didn't think the debt would be paid that easily, did you?"_

_"Uh-oh, is this the part with the handcuffs?"_

_"I don't need handcuffs to enslave a woman," Ranger said, kissing my shoulder._

_He kissed me lightly on my lips and then dipped his head to kiss my chin, ny neck, my collarbone. He moved lower, kissing the swell of my breast and my nipple. He kissed my navel and then my belly and then he put his mouth to my- omigod!_

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I could still feel his touch on my skin as I sat in the cold cave. I could feel that my eyes were heavy and I fought the urge to close them. Even if I did close them, the shock of seeing Morelli's dead eyes shook me awake again. As I was going to wake Connie up I could feel people in the woods. They we're probably looking for us so I didn't move a bit, sat still and watched them search the woods_,_ praying to God that they didn't find us.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry again, no motivation had found me before today. Now I have almost the whole summer time to write and I try to keep the motivation up. Your lovely reviews makes it easier ;)**

**Thank you again for the lovely words from you. They mean everything to me. **

**I hope you like this chapter and the whole story, and that you aren't too upset with my updating. **

**Not mine, not making money (the sad truth)**

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As I watched the men move through the woods I realized how somebody could sit totally unmoved in a chair for hours on end. I could feel the adrenaline pump through my veins and replace the emptiness I had felt moments before they appeared. The rush saved me from the nasty part, the moment I usually pass out after an adrenaline rush.

I leanded carefully against the rocks, shielding me from view and giving me a better place to look at them. My senses were on alert, maxified by the stress. I could see that the men were about 200 ft away and sneaking through the woods without a sound. If I hadn't been on alert they might have surpriced us totally. They were wearing black and had huge machineguns in their hands and they reminded me of something but I couldn't place my finger on what it was.

The men moved like they were born to move in the woods and made their way steadily through the clearing, checking behind every stone and tree. I didn't have to think twice to figure out who they were seeking.

I could feel my heart beating too fast. My fingers were squeezing the rock in front of me so hard that I could feel the skin was broken. Blood sipped onto the rock but I didn't care. I prayed that the men would leave before Connie woke up or made any noise in her sleep.

Apparently God had abannoned me. The men stopped in the clearing, on our side. The faint light of lit cigarettes found their way to my eyes, through the bushes and leaves.

"They can't be too far away. I mean they must have injuries. " one of the men said and coughed. The voice didn't sound familiar but I got chills just listening to his voice. It sounded like this man was the leader of the group, used to give orders and pulling trigares. I resisted the urge to squirm.

"I agree. There was a lot of blood on the way here, so they can't be too far away." one of the others said and spoke softly. It scared me to think this man would talk this softly about blood on the way. Made me think that he had seen very much blood in his life. I prayed that it wouldn't be ours next.

" Yeah, and if we don't find them, no worries. That much blood? They're going to bleed to death or get an infection. No way they're getting out of these woods. " one man said and laughed. He seemed to think the thought of us dying was hilarious. Now I was definetly scared.

"Yes, let's continue." the boss said and they finished their cigarettes and made their way over the cliff. I waited a moment and then let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.

I could feel that the adrenaline rush was coming down with a mighty force and I crawled over to Connie and woke her up.

"Hmm…?" she said and lifted her head up.

"Your turn." I said. "Don't feel so good…"

I could feel my head hitting the ground hard and I was out.

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I woke up to somebody shaking my shoulders. I was laying on something hard and my head was throbbing like hell. It took tremendous effort to open my eyes and when I finally managed to open them I looked right into Connies worried eyes. It was light in the cave.

"Good morning Steph." She said and helped me sit up. She hopped out of the way as I threw up in the corner of the cave. The throbbing was terrible, I couldn't hear my own thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Connie asked me and held my hand as I dry heaved.

"I'm fine." I answered and hung my head.

"No, you're not. But luckily I found help when I went outside to get some raspberries from the bush just outside the cave. "

"What? Why were you outside? There were strange men in the forrest last night, it's not wise to be outside the cave." I said and leaned my head against my arms and resisted the urge to throw up.

"Don't worry. I know these men are on our side. " she said and helped me to the front of the cave.

There was three men in black clothes and huge guns leaning against the trees just outside the cave. They were all tall, musculair and definitely latin American.

The man on the far left was huge and had no neck at all. He looked relaxed but I could see that his eyes searched the woods for something or someone. He was the largest of them all but didn't seem to be the leader. He stood completely still while his eyes moved way faster than it was possible.

The man on the far right side was lean but still musculair, his hair was ruffled and wavy. His hands held a huge gun too but he seemed to be more relaxed than the others. He too were wearing all black, but it seemed to be less intimidating than on the other two. His black eyes sparkled as he smiled at us. I quickly shuffled me so that I was hiding in the shadows but that I could see the men.

The man in the middle was definitely the leader. His posture was rigid, his large muscles seeming to break his t-shirt. He was the tallest of them all and had the longest hair I've ever seen on a man. He had it in a pony tail. He had black, or dark brown eyes and he seemed to have seen a lot in his life. The eyes were wary as he looked at Connie, not being able to see me in the safe shadows of the cave.

"Babe?" The leader said and took a step forward. I released Connie's hand and backed into the cave. I was scared of this man, and now he seemed to follow me.

"Don't come any nearer!" I said and backed away so that I was pressed against the back wall of the cave. The man stopped just outside the cave.

"Stephanie honey, there isn't anything to be afraid of." Connie said to me as she made her way next to me. "They are here to help us, Ranger, Tank and Lester. They mean only good."

Nothing she said to me could make me walk back out there to them and she seemed to realize that. She touched my hand and walked back out to the men outside.

"What's the matter with her?" I could hear the leader say to Connie. His voice was concerned and full of emotions I couldn't figure out.

"I don't know." Connie said and the frustration was visible in her voice. "She remembered you last night. I don't know… "

"Does she have any injuries?" The leader asked Connie and glanced at the cave. I knew he couldn't see me as it was so dark in the cave but I shivered at the intensity in his eyes.

"Yeah, she has some problems with her leg. Then she has cuts and bruises all over her body. She hit her head last night and passed out and woke up throwing up."

I could hear mumbling and shuffling outside the cave as the others moved.

"We need to get her out of here." the leader said and took one heisitance step towards the cave.

"Go away!" I yelled at him and he winced, stepping back.

"Beautiful?" Another voice was heard and the guy with wavy hair stepped so that I could see him. "Don't worry, we're here to help you guys and get you into hospital."

"I don't need you! Now go away and leave us alone!"

The guy backed away and Connie joined them and they discussed something. They spoke too quietly for me to hear them. I glanced around the cave and found the gun. I took it into my hands and aimed at the entrance of the cave. If anybody but Connie came in I would shoot them.

Minutes ticked away slowly.

"Stephanie honey, it's me!" I heard Connie say and lowered the gun as she walked in. "Put the gun down, they left already."

I held it in my hands ignoring her plea, I knew they would be back soon.

Connie made her way back and sat next to me and took the gun away from me. Before I had the chance to react she had injected me with something. I watched the syringe fall and bounce once against the ground.

"Sorry honey. It's for your own good." she said to me as I watched the world go darker and darker until I knew no more.

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	9. Chapter 9

**Hi, after a pause (again) here's chapter 9!**

**I heard the song in this chapter today on the radio and felt inspired. It's called Worse part is over by Anna Abreu. She came second in the Finnish Idols in 2007 (and is more famous than the winner) and I love her voice. It's worth while to listen to the song :)**

**Here's the usual blah-blah : I don't own anything, and I don't make any money. Just playing with the characters during my free time :)**

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Waking up in a strange room is probably the worst feeling ever. This time the room was light, decorated with mild browns and beige, a queen-sized bed in the middle. I was lying on the bed, dressed in new clothes I didn't recognize. They were all black and Rangeman was brodered above my breast. The clothes reminded me of the cave and the strange men standing outside it. I remembered Connie and felt anger rush through my veins. She had no right to drug me and allow the strange men to kidnap me.

I sat up on the bed and looked around. The room was small but homey. I saw the door to the left side of me and a closet besides it. The floor was made of wood but a large beige carpet covered the most of it. At the foot of the bed was a small bench and on the opposite wall of the bed was a large painting. A small girl running on a meadow. There was a large window opposite the door and a wooden bedside table next to the bed. The sheets were wonderful and smooth and reminded me of somebody I couldn't remember. On the other side of the bed there was a small door.

I stood up and walked over to the door and saw that behind the bedroom was a small living room area with a small kitchen. The room was empty. A dining room table and four chairs were next to the wall against the bedroom. The kitchen was to the right and the living room straight ahead. There was a couch and two chairs in matching brown leather and a small table in the middle. Walls were painted with a soft beige color and I spotted a door at the back of the room. I made my way to it, sneaking around the chairs and tables not wanting to make any sound. I glanced out of the window and saw that it was dark outside. A clock on the wall confirmed my thoughts. Three a.m.

The door was sturdier than the others so I guessed that it was the door out. I pressed my ear against the door and heard nothing. I took a deep breath and pushed the handle down.

A man wearing black clothes sat beside the door and looked confused at me when I opened the door. I noticed that this man was one of the three men from the woods. It was the one with wavy hair. He looked like he had been sleeping.

"Hey…" was the only thing he managed to say before I slammed the door shut. I was breathing heavily and I cursed the man who had put guards at my door. Now there was no way sneaking out of this goddamn apartment.

The man was knocking on my door.

"Beautiful? Please open the door?"

I sprinted away from the door and ran to the kitchen, franticly searching the drawers and finally finding a knife in one of them. I stood with my back against the bedroom door, legs spread and my knees slightly bend. Somehow I knew what to do, like I've been trained to do this. My hand didn't shake as I held the knife and watched the door.

I heard the locks being opened and then after a short time the door opened. The man with the wavy hair peeked in and froze when he saw the knife in my hand.

"Beautiful…"

"Don't call me that, I don't know you! Go away and leave me alone." I said and pointed at him with the knife. He looked worried and didn't stop looking at the knife. I started to walk towards him with the knife held high, my face showing no signs of backing away. I was a human being driven into a corner and I would do anything to get myself out of there. I guess he saw it too because he raised his hands.

"Stephanie honey, you won't want to do this." he pleaded.

"I won't do anything if you get the hell out of here!" I yelled at him and he wasted no time in scrambling out of the room. I listened for a while and when I was sure he wasn't coming back I made my way to the bedroom and sat down on the bed. My breathing was labored but I had to check the other door in the bedroom. I walked over to it and opened it carefully with the knife still in my hand.

It was a small bathroom. It was all white and white towels were carefully placed on the hooks on the wall. There were all the basics, shower, toilet and sink. My shower gel and hair products were beside the sink and that felt weird. I walked back to the bedroom and looked in the closet.

It was a normal closet and there was hanging black clothes in my size. At the bottom of the closet was room for shoes. And suddenly it hit me, I've seen closets like these before and I knew that there was a secret compartment underneath the shoes. I threw the shoes on the floor and, yes there it was. It was hard to spot if you didn't know what you were looking for. But I did, I lifted the small lid, glanced down and then wanting to do my happy dance. There was a small gun in there. I picked it up and sat down on the bed, listening to any possible sounds coming from the living room and the door.

Minutes ticked by and I remained silent and unmoved. I was sitting at the middle of the bed, with my feet tucked underneath me. The gun was steady in my right hand, the knife on the bed besides me. I felt like I was trained to do this, but by whom, where or why I didn't know. I didn't remember really anything before we ran in the forest, but I had an achy feeling in my stomach that I've forgotten something very important.

I was feeling overwhelmed to say the least, always on the edge ready to attack the next person who would attack me. Never moving my eyes from the door I remembered a song that I used to sing. With a small voice, barely above a whisper I started to sing.

_You're moving on_  
_That's what they say_  
_But how can I feel this way_  
_With a broken heart_  
_Alone in the dark_  
_Looking for a way to escape_  
_When it gets hard_  
_You gotta stay strong_  
_When everybody wants you to fail_  
_We are the world today_  
_We lost the spark_  
_And that's the worst part_  
_But you gotta take the good with the bad_  
_No matter what cards you got_  
_You still gotta play your hand_  
_When it gets hard_  
_You gotta stay strong_  
_You'll see what I mean one day_  
_(It could be)_  
_We are the world today_

_Worst part is over_  
_Signs will show you when you're through_  
_It's always the darkest before you see the light_  
_You keep on falling_  
_Hear me calling out to you_  
_Just don't give up_  
_Don't let nobody break you down_

Getting lost in the song my voice grew louder and louder until I was almost screaming, tears running down my face. Nothing else was heard, just my singing. I continued to sing, even though I never before had sung the rap part. Now here, I could remember every word and sang.

_Light is back the shit_  
_Doubt it was happened, oh_  
_Just when you told you were planned it, no_  
_Nobody there to grand the wish_  
_Came turn down back slip on the trampoline_  
_Carry in the own world_  
_Worst part is shoulder_  
_Worst part is that the telling me_  
_The worst part is over_

_Try to get that whole to god_  
_Get the physical_  
_I see my brother in the stars_  
_I guess he know_

_Worst part is over_  
_Signs will show you when you're through_  
_it's always the darkest before you see the light_  
_You keep on falling_  
_Hear me calling out to you_  
_Just don't give up_  
_Don't let nobody break you down_

_You keep on falling_  
_Hear me calling out to you_  
_Just don't give up_  
_Don't let nobody break you down_  
_Get back on your feet when_  
_They're knocking them down_  
_And keep believing_  
_Just follow the sound_  
_So when you're falling_  
_Hear me calling_  
_I keep holding on to you_

_Worst part is over_  
_Signs will show you when you're through_  
_it's always the darkest before you see the light_  
_You keep on falling_  
_Hear me calling out to you_  
_Just don't give up_  
_Don't let nobody break you down_

_You keep on falling_  
_Hear me calling out to you_  
_Just don't give up_

_Don't let nobody break you down_

I whispered the last part and whipped my cheeks with my sleeve.

I was feeling frustrated and angry with myself for not remembering and angry with everybody else for locking me away. As hours ticked away I began to drift off to sleep, and finally after hitting my head several times on the headboard I rested my head on the pillow. I fell asleep with the gun in my other hand and the knife on my bedside table. I was going to be prepared to everything.

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**_Reviews? Next chapter is probably Ranger POV or someone of the merry men._**


	10. Chapter 10

**_Hey guys, Being busy with the real life so writing has fallen way behind. I'm sorry._**

**_Anyway's I hope you like ths and I hope you will leave me some reviews :) I love them and you all  
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**_Not mine, not making money_**

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**_Lester Pov_**

These few days had been beyond crazy. One moment everything is normal but then we get the call from Stephanie. I cannot believe that the bastard hit her and scared her so badly. I can still see her eyes, filled with fear as he ran from the devils house. Then my eyes fell on the little bundle in her eyes. He looked like Ranger so much that I felt like I was back in Abuelas house looking at my cousin the first time. It was too spooky.

I felt glad those days when Stephanie was with us, relaxing slightly and getting back my humor. Then the nightmare happened. I did realize why it was necessary for Steph to go to Morelli, but that didn't mean that I liked it. She was too scared, too little, I said to the others but I knew that the decision was right. I knew we couldn't find this bastard any other way.

During the time I followed her through New Jersey I could feel that something wasn't right. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, not until I saw the smoke coming out of the windows in Morelli's house. I was out of my car quicker that anyone else on the scene and I sprinted through the door and into the house ignoring the other's protests. I was greeted by a horrifying scene, Morelli lying on his back with a bullet hole through his head and blood everywhere. But the thing that worried me was that I couldn't see Stephanie anywhere and Connie's purse was on the kitchen table.

I had become closer with Connie these last weeks and for the first time in my life I knew that this was it. Not a silly game, I play, no she was special. She made my heart beat and was the reason I breathed, if you excuse my cliché. I just knew that she was the one for me, that I no longer had to search, trying to conceal the real me with the stupid jokes and remarks. For the first time in a long time I was truly happy. I did my job better, I found myself smiling all the time. It hurt like a million daggers that I found her bag in a burning, empty house with a dead cop in the hallway.

I sprinted out of the house with the bag and found my way through the crowd of people to Tank who was looking grim talking on the phone. No second guessing who was at the other end. My cousin, or at this moment it was my boss. I knew Ranger would be freaking out back in Trenton. I jogged the short distance and held up the bag to Tank and mouthed "Connie" to him. The expression didn't change but I knew he would know what to do. Now all we had to do was to wait, easier said than done. For the first time I understood what Ranger was going through every time Steph was missing. I sighed and leaned against the tree that shadowed the path up to the house. Man, this was going to be a long night.

After what felt like six hours I saw Tank heading my way. The fire fighters had been here and put out the fire but there was very little of the house left. The fire had spread to the attic and that was a bitch to put out. Tank looked tired but like he had the situation under control at the same time. I glanced at my watch. An hour since we had arrived.

"What's up man?" I asked Tank and walked over to him. He shook his head and glanced at the woods.

"Ranger's all over the place. It'll take him a while to make his way here but he suggested, no more like ordered us to start to look through the woods. See if we can find anything that might lead us to Stephanie and Connie."

I looked at the woods and felt like I was in my element. I was the best tracker in Rangeman and I knew that I could do this. I noticed things that most people didn't see and I also often had a vague idea of where to look.

I nodded at Tank and motioned that he should follow me. I fell into the zone, or that's what Steph usually called it. I smiled while I walked towards the house and thought about this dilemma. Her purse was in the kitchen but that could be a coincidence but judging how Morelli was placed in the hall I figured that the girls were probably in the living room. There was a door leading to a small patio in the living room so I would think that they fled through that door. I walked around the house while Tank was silently following me, trying hard not to distract me.

I placed my back against the door and looked at the woods surrounding us. They would have been afraid; they would have wanted to get away from the house as soon as possible. Steph wasn't stupid so she would have run to the nearest trees and not risking being seen from the house. I looked and closed my eyes. I felt like she would have gone right, and started to walk towards the trees.

Walking a few steps into the forest I knew that we were heading in the right direction. I dropped to my knees and found a small piece of fabric torn away from a piece of clothing hanging on a small branch of a bush. I picked it up and gave it to Tank and marched forward into the woods, taking only small turns. They would want to get far, far away and would take the shortest way out. A fallen tree stood in our way; I stopped and looked at it. It wasn't too high, but it was long and I suspected that they had jumped over it rather than to walk all the way around it. I kneeled on the tree and looked at the ground on the other side. The leaves were scattered and I smiled. We were on the right track, someone, probably Steph, had fallen here. I hope that she was alright though.

I could hear Tank talking in his phone, probably telling Ranger where we were at. I listened only with one ear, looking at the ground trying to figure out where too next.

"Hey, Lester. Hold up for a while, Ranger should be here soon and then we can continue." Tank said and placed a hand on my shoulder. I nodded and stood up. Going straight forward didn't seem like the right decision anymore. I wondered where they would have gone as we waited for boss man. I walked a bit back and without warning ran across the fallen tree and fell where Steph had fallen. I quickly got to my feet and ran without thought. I heard Tank yelling at me from the distance and stopped. I looked back to Tank and the quickly at the ground again. There wasn't anything anywhere, not a single clue. I was puzzled, usually this worked. I slowly walked back to Tank but froze about half way there. Something was peeking from under the bush. I kneeled and pulled out a single shoe. Same size and model I knew Connie had. I took a shaky breath as I walked back to Tank and Ranger who had just gotten there.

"Report" he barked out and I told the story. Nothing much to tell really and he nodded at me. I gave the shoe to Tank and walked back to where I had left off. I fell back to my zone and walked with the two men trailing me. I walked a while and then stopped at a clearing.

"What is it?" Ranger asked me but I shook my head. I was trying to hear anything. I felt like I was close to them but couldn't see them.

"Connie?" I whispered and held my hand up so no one would say anything. "Connie?" I said louder.

"Lester?" I heard a faint whisper from the right. I walked towards there and saw Connie emerge from a cave. "Oh my God, thank god you are here!" she said and rushed to hug me. I hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.

"How are you?" I asked and held her at arm's length. She looked awful, dirty and tired. But she smiled up at me.

"Better now that you are here. Poor Steph is still in the cave. She's totally freaked out, injured and well… not quite like herself anymore. "

I Saw Ranger move towards the cave but Connie stopped him.

"No! Let me go and wake her up, Ranger. Just trust me this is for the better."

I watched her walk into the cave and soon I saw her come out again with Steph trailing behind. She seemed scared out of her brains and looked at all of us like she didn't know any of us. And it truly was like that, she didn't recognize us at all. I watched Ranger try but going nowhere to get her out of that little cave. I took a step forward.

"Beautiful? Don't worry, we're here to help you guys and get you into hospital." I said as calmly as I could but she backed away from me.

"I don't need you! Now go away and leave us alone!"

Now I don't want to lie, that did hurt me. I thought that she would have remembered me, we were very close. I stared at the cave while the other's discussed that they should drug her to get her back to the Trenton office. I was still lost in my mind when they got her out of the cave but snapped back to focus. She needed our help so we were going to help her. Ranger carried her out of the forest while I walked with Connie, trying to carry her but she refused.

After I got Connie safely to the hospital and had said my good byes I returned to the Rangeman building and was immediately place to guard beautiful's door, preventing anybody to get inside or out. I sat down on the stool and fell quickly into my thoughts that were circling around the day's events. I let my senses run wild as I closed my eyes. I was beyond tired, I was exhausted. My relaxing was interrupted by the door opening and Stephanie peaking out.

"Hey…" Was the only thing I said before the door was slammed in my face. I blinked twice, trying to focus again.

"Beautiful? Please open the door?" I said and knocked on the door. I was really trying to figure why she was acting like this. I was truly scared about what she might do to someone, or herself. I opened the locks and peaked inside. I froze when I saw her standing in the kitchen with the large knife in her small hands. She looked truly mental right then.

"Beautiful…"

"Don't call me that, I don't know you! Go away and leave me alone." She said to me and started to wave the knife franticly. I didn't take my eyes of the knife and she seemed to notice that. She walked closer and now I was really scared. I've seen this look on her face before and then it was on suicide bomber's during the time's I had served my country. She wasn't going to back down.

"Stephanie honey, you won't want to do this." I pleaded and lifted my hands high. This wasn't the time to be heroic. She would stab me if I made one wrong move.

"I won't do anything if you get the hell out of here!" She screamed and I saw my chance of escaping as I hurried out of the room. My heart was beating too fast and I was truly worried about Stephanie. She didn't seem to be very stable.

I took calming breaths and sat down on the chair, pulling out my phone hitting the speed dial for Ranger. This was out of my hands. I explained the situation for him and heard him sigh.

"I cannot do anything about this right now. I suggest you to stay out of her room and watch out for her. She's hit her head and isn't herself. Maybe after a few hours make sure that she's okay, but let her fall asleep first. But Lester, be careful."

I sighed and leaned back on my chair. This long night, was going to get longer.

After three hours I stood up and shook my legs trying to get blood flowing in them again. Taking a deep breath I entered the now dark apartment. I made my way around the furniture as silently as I could and stepped into the bedroom. She was asleep on the bed and I sighed quietly. I leaned in to move the gun she had under her pillow as her eyes opened and I was staring into her empty eyes. I could feel the blood drain from my face and as quickly as the lightning she had grabbed her knife and plunged into my right arm. I yelped and backed away from her with the knife still sticking out of my hand.

"I told you to get the hell out of here!" she screamed and reached for her gun. I ran out of the bedroom while bullets hit the walls behind me. "I hate you so much!" she screamed out from behind me as I heard her reload the gun. I swallowed deeply as I stumbled over the couch. Man, this wasn't going to end well.

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	11. Chapter 11

**Been a while but I'm back! I think... I'm trying to find the time for writing and that's proving to be quite the task. Anyways hope you like this one, eventhough it's a very short one.**

**Thank you for all your reviews and for those who haven't answered my survey on my profile page, please help me out with my 10-page project. It's going to take less than ten minutes and make you my angel. Thank you!**

**Not mine.**

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"Relax!" I said trying to fight the fear running through my veins and trying to avoid full panic as I stared into Stephanies empty eyes. She was going to kill me that I knew for sure. I'd seen that look on many men as they were trapped into corners. She would fight until death unless I could get her to realize who I was.

"Listen beautiful. I'm your friend, Lester." I said avoiding any sudden moves, my hands still high in the air. I talked slowly, with calm and what I hoped sounded like kindness. I made sure she understood that I was no threat for her. She wasn't a killer, I knew that. I prayed this move would save my life as I knew if she attacked me that I wouldn't be able to defend myself.

"Remember me, beautiful? You met me years ago. We decorated that apartment together. Tank threw that guy out of the third floor window. You were horrified but he was okay. Remember that?"

Her eyes showed the huge struggle inside her. She was trying to figure things out. I decided to continue before she snapped again.

"You and I worked together too. Remember that time when we tricked Binkie into driving in full panic after a truck because we'd thrown your tracker into it?"

"Tracker?" She asked me, her voice rough, as if she was confused. The knife shook in her hand and her beautiful lips were parted. I pushed forward and tried not to get too hopeful.

"Yeah, that Ranger put on your cars. I taught you to hide ones yourself into others cars. Remember when we followed Vinnie around as training? Turned out that he was visiting…"

"Joyce." She breathed. "He visited Joyce. We sat in the car and ate doughnuts, brushing the powdered sugar of our shirts so that we wouldn't get caught. "

Her knees gave out and she tumbled onto the soft rug in the middle of the room. The knife flew out of her hands and salty tears flowed down her cheeks. Violent sobs shook her small frame. I pushed myself over the couch and kicked the knife away, just in case and held her as she cried. I felt my shirt getting wet as she cried but I didn't care as I sat there, pressing my face into her loose curls, inhaling the sweet scent of vanilla. She gasped for air between incoherent words I couldn't understand. I kept shhing her, keeping her close until her eyes dried.

"Oh my god, I can't believe that I tried to kill you Lester! You're one of my best friends and I try to kill you. What's wrong with me?" she exclaimed as soon as she could form coherent sentences. I shook my head at her and tipped her head with my head.

"You're perfect beautiful! You're going through some tough shit but I'll be here for you. I'll try to help you the best way I can."

"But how? I don't remember anything. I can't, I must..." she stopped immediately and jumped up, her expression of pure horror. "Oh my god, where's my baby? Is he alright, oh gosh did I hurt him?"

I was surprised at her quick movements but regained myself and stood up only slightly worried about her changing moods. I kept my distance as she turned her hands and look around the apartment. It killed me to see her like this, totally confused and scared.

"Beautiful, you have not hurt your son. He's with Ella now and he is alright. I don't think it's a good idea to wake him up at this hour." I said trying to buy myself time to figure this out with Ranger. She looked at me her eyes searching for something in my eyes and face. Finally, after a few minutes she seemed happy with what she saw.

"I remember Ella" she said with a smile. "She makes the most heavenly chocolate cake in the entire universe, am I right?"

"Yes you are." I smiled at her. "I can call her to make a cake to you tomorrow."

She stood there thinking about it a while. I noticed the dark circles around her eyes and glanced at my clock.

"I think it's time for you to get back to bed, it's late and you should rest and get better for you and your son."

I knew I had her with that and put my hand to the small of her back guided her back into the bedroom, placing her on the bed. She looked at her hands and fiddled with her charm bracelet.

"Lester?" she whispered and my heart broke with the fear in her voice. I sat down beside her and pulled her into my embrace.

"Yes beautiful?"

"Are you real?" she whispered into my chest and I had to smile. Guess she was afraid that this was a dream.

"Yep, I'm as real a man can be."

She remained still, her breathing uneven. I knew that she had more on her heart but let her take her time. I stroked her hair and felt her relax a little.

"Will you stay with me?"

"Of course beautiful. Anything to help you out." IO answered without a doubt. She leaned into me and I felt her smile.

"Thank you"

I climbed beside her after I stripped my gun belt and shoes. Not daring to remove any more clothing. I laid down and pulled her close to me. She relaxed into me and I kept stroking her hair as I heard sleep claim her. Her breathing got even and her death grip on my shirt loosened. I waited a half an hour before I untangled my hand from her hair and carefully got out of the bed. It was time to make a call.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Hey you guys! Another week, another chapter! Thank you for all your reviews and PMs, they are very helpful!**

**Hope you like this one, it's got a little flashback for you. :)**

**Not mine, not making money**

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LESTER POV

I glanced at the sleeping beauty laying in the bed and sighed as I made my way out of the room. My brain was still trying to figure out this mess, who and why had they done this to Beautiful? I mean, nobody knows wat happened in the house, we were totally left out in the blue. I avoided the chairs and tables as I tried to decide how far away I should go. I didn't want to go outside as that might startle her and I didn't want to do that again. I sat down on the ottoman beside the couch that was turned over. I took a deep breath and picked up my phone.

"Yo." He said after only after a few seconds. His voice was tense and distress shone through. I could imagine my cousin pacing around the apartment, like I have seen him do so many times. Every time Steph went missing or was in any type of trouble he would pace around the apartment and the rest of us would just sit and wait for him to come up with a game plan. It had been like that since the military days, he had the highest ranking and he would figure the mess out.

"Yo." I answered and took a deep breath, he wouldn't like the news I brought. "She's terrified, tried to attack me with a bread knife not knowing who I was. Luckily, before she stabbed the heck out of me, I managed to talk her out of it and got her to recognize me. She's asking about her son."

The silence in phone almost suffocated me as I heard him sit down. Propably he would hold his head in his hands and shake it slightly. Again, something I have seen before.

"What should I do?" I asked him as the silence continued. I heard him sigh.

"Be with her tonight, I can't risk it escalating if I came there without warning. Try to talk to her, try to figure out what caused this and report back to me. We'll see later if she's able to see her son, it'd kill her to hurt him in any way so let's avoid that."

"Okay bossman. Try to get some sleep" I said fully aware that he would pace through the rest of the night and then head to the gym and spar the shit out of some poor bastard. Thank God I was here safe from Rangers aggressions, I've been to the mats more than anybody else in this building, including Tank.

I put down my phone and looked around the place. I had lived here the first year I was working here, they had only painted the walls in a lighter shade and replaced the furniture. I smiled and remembered the fun times we had had on that old couch. All the girls I had brought back here, and all the guys nights we shared. I remembered one night particulary well.

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_We sat on the worn down couch and watched the pregame. bobby, I and Tank sat on the couch quite comfortably as Ranger walked through the door. He had his working outfit on and kicked off his boots as he sat down in the chair beside the couch and took a beer. In one sip (?) he poured down the whole bottle down his throat and opened another._

"_Rough day there, cuz?" I asked him and grinned. I loved to see my cousin totally frustrated and even though I knew I was pulling the tigers tail and I knew that he would be kicking my butt on the mats tomorrow I loved to piss him of and loose the almighty blank face, as beautiful so nicely put it. _

"_Leave it Santos!" He barked and closed his eyes. I only grinned harder cause I knew this time it would be epic._

"_Oh dear Lord…" Bobby muttered and reached for another bear and sighed as if he had seen this one before. I guess that was true, this happened almost everyday. Tank just stared at the game, or so it would seem to an unexperienced watcher. I on the other hand saw that he was watching Ranger ready to save me from being pulverized by him. _

"_It's Beautiful, isn't it?" I asked him trying to keep my voice normal, not quite succeeding in it. _

"_I said leave it Santos!" he said through gritted teeth. I knew that he needed a little time so I kept shut for a few minutes and resisted the urge to do my happy dance when I heard him take a deep breath._

"_It's babe." He said and took a sip of his bear. I grinned so hard it was starting to hurt as I looked at my cousin. I had seen his sexual pressure rising during these last weeks and I had heard that he had refused to see a lady friend, if you know what I mean? He had never been really serious about dating any of the woman he saw and he would always go to see one of these lady friends to release so pressure once in a while, but not this time. In fact not since the day he saw Beautiful. I knew they both fancied each other but they both had their heads up their asses so they couldn't see it as obvious as it seemed to everybody else._

"_I went to see her today."_

"_And…? You had sex didn't you?" I said to him and watched him go tense. That was all the confirmation I needed. "Was it good?"_

"_Santos!" Tank said to me and hit my shoulder but I wasn't going to let this go. The game had started but nobody watched it, only looking at Ranger. He wasn't going to say anything we all knew that. _

"_So it was. Okay what seems to be the problem here?" I asked him and tried to figure out what was the problem._

"_I realized something… afterwards."_

_We all kept quiet as he studied the glass bottle in his hand._

"_I love her." He said out loud after a few minutes. "I love her very much."_

"_We all know that already, it's been obvious since the day you saw her."_

"_And then I did something I already regret." he whispered and looked pained. We all stopped and looked at him, this was no time for silly jokes anymore. _

"_You can tell us bossman." Bobby said and leaned over._

"_I sent her back to the cop." He whispered and grabbed his head in his hands. We all just looked at each other like we've never seen each other. How? Why?_

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	13. Chapter 13

**Here's another chapter for you as I had it laying around! It'll probably take me some time to wirte the next one, just so that you know :)**

**Thank you all for your reviews, they mean the world for me! **

**Not mine**

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**LESTERS POV**

My thoughts were interrupted by a heart breaking scream from the bedroom. I rushed there, knocking my legs on tables and chairs and flied through the door with my gun raised trying to spot the danger. The room was empty except for Beautiful who was sitting upright in the bed gasping for air. I put away my gun and climbed back to bed and held her close as she sobbed against my chest. I brushed her hair and whispered nothings in her ears and soon she became to calm down. I continued to hold her as she calmed down enough to raise her head.

"I'm so sorry Lester." she said, hanging her head looking extremely embarrassed. I smiled at her and lifted her head with my hand, forcing her to look me in the eye.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of Beautiful. It's normal to have nightmares."

"But I feel so silly, and I can't help but to scream. The dreams are so real, like I'm back in the house or back in the forest running for my life. Or that Connie is too far away, even though I run as fast as I can I can't get to her and she screams and screams…"

She got quiet as she remembered the horrors she had been through. I felt so sorry for her, she was so innocent and I thought it was so unfair that a sweet girl like her had to see and experience more horrors than some solders have to go through. I hugged her tightly and stood up bringing her with me.

"I think it's time for some hot chocolate." I said and remembered my mother doing the same. I remembered the time when I got home from my first mission, the time I saw the horrors of war for the first time. I sat in my kitchen, pouring my heart out to my mother who sat in her chair and held my hand. She was dressed in her sun dress, the yellow one with the flowers on. She kept on smiling at me, encouraging me to spill it all out and I did. I kept talking and crying for my lost friends and she kept on listening. Then after I shut up she stood up and shoved me to the kitchen and sat me down by the counter.

"_Let's make some hot chocolate Angelito."_ She said to me and poured me a steaming cup of hot chocolate and gave me a piece of her heavenly chocolate cake. She talked to me about her week and told me about my cousin who had started his own business. I listened to her and felt my worries go away as I got surrounded by my mothers loving embrace. I knew I couldn't be Stephanies mother, but I was going to try to give her some of that comfort I felt that day.

"Hot chocolate?" she asked me and her face showed the worry and surprice she was dealing with. I laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Yes. Hot chocolate."

I lead her way to the kitchen and sat her down on the bar chair behind the breakfast counter. I took out the milk and the cocoa and started to make my mothers hot chocolate and kept on talking about nonsense, like how Howie had tricked Cal into breaking in to the wrong house and got him arrested. Then I told her about my sisters wedding and how the groom had fainted during the seremony. I heard her laugh and continued to tell the story about one of my cousins weddings where only my aunt had turned up; the rest of the family had gotten the wrong date in the invites. She laughed harder and I felt my heart grow lighter and I smiled at her. She had back the radiance she used to have but I could still see the confusion in her eyes. I gave her the cup of chocolate and took a piece of coffee cake out of the fridge and gave it to her.

I sat down beside her and took a cup of chocolate to myself. She leaned into me as she drank her chocolate, the cake following in the drinks footsteps. We watched the sun rise from behind the buildings and illuminate the room in soft colors. Minutes passed and finally turned into one hour. Stephanie lifted her cheek from my shoulder and looked at me with eyes filled with thankfulness.

"It's okay" I said before she got the words out of her mouth. She smiled at me and took a glance around the room. "I'll clean the mess, you go have a shower."

She laughed and kissed my nose as she limped to the shower. I laughed at her manners and stood up quickly assessing the damage. The furniture were all over the place and I had knocked over one table with some papers and stuff on, which were now scattered all over the floor. I lifted the furniture with no problem and put the papers back in their place. I heard the shower go on and sat down on the now upright couch. The light from the windows hit something on the floor and the light got reflected right into my eyes. I stood up and picked the knife up and stared at it thinking about the danger of having it in the drawers. I sighed and decided to put it high up in the over the counter cupboards so that she wouldn't get to it so easily.

I froze as I heard a knock on the door. It was cautious, a slight tap on the door not to wake any attention. I listened and heard that she was still in the shower and made my way to the door. I opened it and found myself staring right in Ranger's eyes. Bobby was beside him looking worried as he always did when it came to Beautiful.

"Yo." I said still listening to the sound of water hitting tile. I stepped outside and held the door ajar.

"How's she?" Ranger asked and I could see that I had been right about the sleeping. His eyes showed his pain and worry.

"For the better, I think" I answered and smiled. "She didn't try to kill me at least."

"That's a good sign." Bobby chuckled. "Is she complaining about some pain?"

"Not that I've heard. She had a nightmare though, was totally out of it but I knew the medicine to that." I said and listened if the water stopped running. As I still could hear it I continued. "I made her some hot chocolate and coffee cake."

Bobby laughed and Ranger smiled. This was my favorite technique to calm myself and everybody else who wasn't calm. Ranger and Bobby knew this very well, as I have put them through it quite often.

"Hey, it worked!" I exclaimed and smiled at them.

"Sure, I'm glad it did. Anyways back to business, could you ask if she wants to see either of us?" Ranger said and I heard a hint of worry in there.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes." I closed the door and walked into the bedroom as she got out of the bedroom fully clothed in the RangeMan uniform of black cargo pants and T-shirt. I could see the scratches on her arms and legs and that her leg didn't seem to be okay. It looked painfully swollen and blue.

"Hey you." she said to me and sat down on the bed and dried her hair in her towel. I sat beside her and took her hand.

"When you were in the shower, Bobby and Ranger came by. You want to see them?"

She stopped and looked down at the carpet. I could see that she was thinking hard and I was careful not to make it harder for her.

"Bobby would be nice. He's the medic right?" she asked me and looked at me with questioning eyes.

"Yes he is. He's fixed you up more than once."

"I remember him."

"How about Ranger?" I asked and glanced at her reaction. She grabbed the towel harder and sighed.

"Not right now. I don't want him to see me like this. Not yet, but soon."

I squeezed her hand and told her to wait a moment. I walked quickly back to the door and saw that the guys hadn't moved one bit since I left them.

"She wants to see you Bobby. She says she doesn't want to see you Ranger just yet but soon. She doesn't want you to see her like this."

The heartbreak was evident in his face as by words broke his heart but I knew that he would respect her wishes. I lead Bobby in and closed the door as I saw Rangers back as he walked to the couch we had in the fourth floor lobby. I stifled a sigh.

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	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, it didn't take long this time. The inspiration-bug bit me and I had to write! **

**A while a go I asked you to answer a few questions on my page and I thank you all who did that! The answers were great and very useful in my ten-page project. It's almost finnished and I have just one more thing I need to ask you guys; What is the sterotype of Finns? Or your experience with them? And the steriotype of Americans? Send me a PM and you'll be on my Angels-on-earth list :)**

**Thanks for your reviews and kind words, they light up my day here in the cold and dark north. :)**

**Not mine**

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**Stephanies POV**

I watched Lesters back as he walked towards the door meeting Bobby. I know he was disappointed that I hadn't allowed Ranger to come and see me, but I was scared. I was scared about a lot of things including that he might not want to see me again and the fear of that he might think that it would be wise if I didn't see my son anymore. Oh, the thought of my son made my heart stop and my stomach turned. I missed my son, my angelito, the reason of my being. It was like half of me was missing and I couldn't stop worrying about him even though I knew that he was in capable hands. I knew that Ella would take good care of him but I wanted him to be here with me. I also knew why they refused me to see him.

The thought of me trying to attack Lester hurts me more than I want to share. He's my best friend and I tried to kill him! I put my head in my hands, burying my head and trying to get rid of the feeling of disbelief and embarrassment.

Lester had been my rock since this ordeal started and I wanted to let him know how much he meant to me. He had calmed me after my nightmare and had taken care of me first. I loved him for that and I hoped he knew that he was my best friend and that that was as far as I would go with him. I love Ranger. And the thing that scares me the most is that I cannot remember him properly. I remember certain things about him like the fact that he has a scar on his right shoulder blade and that eats chocolate cake only if I ask. But I can't remember his face and that scares me beyond any other thing. I can't remember how the love of my life looks like, the father of my son and the keeper of my soul and heart. I could feel the sob rip through my ribs and the salty tears make stripes on my cheeks.

"Bomber, are you alright?" I heard Bobby's worried voice and knew that he had heard my sob. I lifted my face and looked into the familiar green eyes and memories flooded my mind. I remembered all the stake-outs with him, all the medical stuff, everything. I flung myself on him and cried against his shoulder. I felt him tense up at first but then relax and pull me closer to him. I knew that I was running his shirt and that he didn't care about that. I hated to let the guys see me cry but I was certain that he wouldn't tell anyone even if they asked him.

After a while my tears dried and I began to pull away. Bobby hugged me tight and then held me at arm's length. I could see a large wet spot on his shirt.

"Are you okay honey?"

If I just hadn't emptied my eyes I would have bawled them dry now. I loved all the guys so much, and that they did care about me made my heart warm and fuzzy.

"I'm fine." I smiled at him. I could see that he didn't believe me and that this was nothing to be silly about. I sighed at sat down on the bed, carefully avoiding my ankle. It was unbelievably painful and I couldn't figure out how I could run so fast and such a long way with it. "My ankle's just a bit sore."

He gave me a look I knew meant _"Right and I saw a pink pig fly today morning."_ I rolled my eyes at him. "Okay, it's really painful. Happy now?"

He smiled at my comment and kneeled on the floor picking my foot up and carefully examining it.

"I'm never happy when you're hurt Bomber, you know that. This looks really painful. I think we need to get an X-ray and see if it's broken which I believe. You need to come to second floor with me to get that fixed. Anything else bothering you?"

I showed him my cuts and bruises and he covered them up. This was an old habit, me raising my hands and him wrapping them up. We had done this so many times that I had lost count. I continued to raise my limbs lost in thought when he took a sharp breath. I looked down at him looking at my inner thighs. I bit my lip waiting for him to say something feeling very naked and very exposed.

"Who did these?" He asked and pointed at the hand shaped bruises on my thighs. I looked away from his eyes; they were so full of love and concern that it was harder to breath. I felt my eyes start to water as I could hear the screams racing through my mind.

"_Open up bitch! I'm gonna make you mine and ruin you for all other men. You're going to remember me every time you close your eyes bitch!" the shrill man's voice screamed at me and I could feel the hands on my thighs prying them apart. The coldness hit hard on my bare legs._

"Bomber?" Bobby's voice woke me up from my memories. I blinked at the light and looked straight into green eyes. His hands were on my cheeks and I could feel myself shaking. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to…"

"Don't be Bobby. It happens all the time." I answered him, shaking my head and pushed the memories down deep, and set my brain on denial-mode. "And to answer your question, I don't know who they were."

Bobby's jaw was clenched tightly and his hands didn't leave my cheeks, forcing me to see him in the eye. He saw the truth in them and slowly let his hands drop. I knew he wanted to do something about the anger pent up in him and I understood him perfectly, I felt like punching the crap out of every punching bag there is. I wanted to shoot every bullet there was, I wanted to kill the guys who did this. I put a hand on his hand.

"Go ahead, I understand." I smiled at him and pointed for the living room. I saw the struggle in him as he tried to figure out what to do. I stood up and gave him a slight shove towards the door. He looked at me to see if I was okay and I nodded with a smile. He gave me a quick smile and exited through the door and I could hear the fist collide with a wall. No doubt that there was going to be a group of men at the door in the next minutes all wondering what caused the calm and quiet Bobby to lose his temper. I had seen the solider in him and that sometimes he needed to vent his feelings. He chose the easiest way, by punching or kicking something. I had seen him down at the gyms every time something bad happened hitting and kicking the shit out of the bags. I understood that he got rid of the negative feelings that way; I did the same with quality loving by Ranger. I was only slightly jealous that he could vent when I couldn't.

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	15. Chapter 15

_Here you go guys, hope you'll enjoy it!_

_Thank you for your reviews and kind words!_

_Not mine_

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Bobby POV

I could not believe it! This was just the thing I feared when I heard that Stephanie was missing. I could feel the rage in me explode the same time my fist collided with the soft drywall. From the first time I patched her up after a skip had hurt her I had promised myself that I would never allow her to be violated in this way, her ultimate intimacy taken away from her and I had done nothing to stop it. I felt the sickness grow in my stomach, making it very hard to concentrate and to breathe. I forced a deep breath and relaxed my fists, trying my utmost to relax. I glanced around and saw that Lester and Ranger stood by the door looking dumbstruck, their mouths hanging slightly ajar.

"Bobby? Lester asked me and looked at me like he was afraid that I would attack him, holding his hands so that I could see and speaking calmly. I hated the fact that because I had let my control slip my friends were afraid of me and that I had left Stephanie all alone when she had needed me the most. But on the other hand, I was so distraught that I couldn't have helped her properly.

"It's okay guys. I just needed to vent a bit but now I have to get back to Stephanie." I answered him and relaxed my posture. I was a medic, goddamn, I could do this. I turned my back at them and marched back to the bedroom, not caring to explain more to them because they would totally flip out and kill every man in a ten mile radius. Shutting the door behind me I saw that Bomber was sitting on the edge of the bed smiling slightly at me when she saw me.

"Feeling better?" she asked me and held her hand out to me and pulled me beside her. I put my hand around her and pulled her close.

"Not even close but I'm in control now." I said and sighed. I felt her put her head on my shoulder and relax. I rubbed small circled on her arm, partially to calm her but also to calm me. She was alive, that was the main thing. Now I had to focus on fixing her as best as I could.

"You okay?" I asked her after a while. I knew that she would understand my need to know and not give me that "I'm fine" bullshit. I felt her tense up slightly but continued to rub her hand and after a moment she relaxed.

"I'm dealing with it. You know it was hard at first, you know in the house and then in the forest. Running like hell for your life is something I think you know. It's terrifying, not knowing where they are and when are they going to find and hurt you. The thought of you guys kept me from stopping, and the thought of Connie. I couldn't just leave her, as she was in worse condition as me. How is she?"

"She'll live. She had some major bleeding and other internal injuries. A few broken bones but that's it. Do you know is she… when through the same as you? She's not talking about that."

I felt her shake and I knew that she was crying. Crying for her and crying for Connie. She had gone through hell and worried more about her friend than about herself. Connie was staying in the small infirmary on sixth where I have my office as well. She had gone through some major operations and was realized to my care after Ranger had talked to the director in St Francis. I had asked my sister who also was a nurse to help me, and Ranger had hired her on the spot. She was happy to help and was staying up on sixth with Connie as we were talking. I felt confident that she would take care of Connie when I wasn't there.

Even though I hadn't talked to her about Connie, she seemed to know about my feeling towards her. I hadn't talked about my feelings to anybody, not even the core team although I had the feeling that they already knew about them. As I kept running into her when I got the RangeMan files my feelings started to grow for her. She was smart, beautiful and the no-nonsense type of girls I loved. She was warm, kind and still very bad-ass and I loved it! I had asked her out on a date and thankfully she had said yes. The night was one to remember and she was radiant. We talked through the dinner easily and then it turned out we had the same taste in movies as well. I had enjoyed every minute of it and wished that the night never ended. We would have gone on a date yesterday but then this horrible ordeal came between us. I wished that I was up there with her but as she was under heavy medication and probably sleeping now I guess I was more helpful here than there. I loved Stephanie like a sister and she meant the world to me. It angered me that the two women I loved the most had to go through this on their own, without us there to help them.

"She was there longer than I was Bobby. I feel so bad that she had to be dragged into this, she was innocent!" Bombers voice interrupted my thoughts and I could see that she didn't cry anymore but that her voice was rough from the crying.

"Stop it!" I said to her and hugged her. "You was innocent as well, you shouldn't blame yourself for this!"

"But I'm not!" she exclaimed and hopped onto her feet, carefully avoiding her bad leg. "It my fault, I left Joe and he was there when I opened the door and greeted me with that horrible smile of his and then there was these men behind him and I could hear Connie screaming in the living room! One of the guys laughed, it gives me still the chills! Then they grabbed me and took me to the living room and then…"

Her voice showed the deep anxiety in her and she was shaking from silent tears.

"Oh Bomber." I said and stood up and carried her back to the bed and sat her in my lap. "You don't have to tell me now, you are safe here with me and I won't let anybody else touch you if you don't want to. Hell, nobody will see you either if you want that too."

And I meant it too. I would do my upmost to keep her calm and not to cause her anymore traumas than she already had. Even if it meant that I would have to kick Ranger ass I would without a second thought. I would keep my promise and keep her safe from here on forward.

"You're too kind Bobby. I'm not worth all this fuss." she whispered to my chest and I felt my heart contract.

"You are worth everything in this world honey. You brought life back to all of us, you brought the sunshine with you and we all love you for it. You are beyond loved in this building and we all would do anything for you if you only asked us. Hell, even go to dinner with you to your parents!"

I felt her laugh and wrap her arms around me. She lifted her head up to look me in the eyes and I could see that she was feeling better even though I could see that her eyes were haunted with bad memories. I placed a kiss on her nose and smiled.

"I think it's time for you to head up with me to the infirmary to get checked out. Connie's there too." I added as I saw that she wasn't happy with it. "You wanna get rid of the goons outside the doors?" I asked her and squeezed her hand.

She looked at me and smiled almost apologetically. "Would you do that Bobby? I don't want everybody to see me like this. But could Lester come with us?"

"Of course, anything you want!" I said and stood up. "Wait for me here; I'll go face the tigers."

And I meant it. They would hate this.

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_Pretty please?_


	16. Chapter 16

_I have found a muse! For now at least, I'm writing like a maniac! Hope you don't mind? :)_

_Thanks for the kind words and reviews! They make me smile!_

_Not mine as you all know by now!_

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**_Stephanies POV_**

I sat on the bed looking once again at Bobby's parting back. I felt nauseous as I thought about having to face the guys, I was so thankful for Bobby agreeing to do this to me. It's not like I didn't care about them, it was because I cared too much for them and I knew it would kill them to see me like this. I knew that once they found out what had happened to me they would kill every man in the tri-state area and I didn't want to burden them with yet another kill for me. Ranger would hunt down the men and torture them in ways I could only imagine, and a part of me found that thought thrilling, a part of me wanted to do the torture myself. It killed me to know that I wasn't the only woman who they had put their hands on. I could remember them bragging about their kills and rapes to each other while one of them was doing the deed. I felt sick as I remembered the filthy hands on my shoulders, thighs and throat. A shiver went through me.

"Bomber?" I jumped at Bobby's careful word, ripped back into the real world and found myself blushing to being so startled.

"I'm fine, just stuck in thoughts…" I mumbled at him and stood up from the bed and straightened my shirt. "We good to go?"

"Yeah. Do you mind if I carry you?" Bobby answered to me after looking at me carefully, only noticing that I had gone back to the land of denial. I smiled a bit wider at his nervousness about carrying; I was notoriously bad when it came to being carried. I once smacked Lester so hard that I almost hurt myself, Lester of course denies that it hurt when I know for fact that it must have hurt.

"It's fine Bobby, I know that I can't walk to the infirmary." I said and Bobby took the few steps towards me and scooped me up and carried me to the living room bridal style. Lester was grinning at me beside the door, holding it open and bowing when we walked by. I couldn't help but to smile with him as I looked at him over Bobby's shoulder.

"Did you get a good punch Beautiful?" He asked and jogged around us and pushed the button for the elevator.

"I would never hurt Bobby" I answered and laughed at his puppy dog eyes and shivering lip. "Okay fine, I wouldn't hurt you either. Unless you piss me of, what was the case back then! You can't just grab a woman and expect that she's fine with it!"

I liked the normality the guys kept up for me. I liked that I didn't feel like a burden with my injuries, this was just like a normal day, except for the fact that Ranger used to carry me instead of Bobby. I felt Bobby's chest move as he laughed at Lester and I couldn't help but to feel the longing back to Rangers arms. But I was afraid, more afraid than I had never been before. The weird thing was that I couldn't figure out why I was so afraid, it was Ranger for god's sake!

I was jolted back to reality when the doors opened and we stepped out to the sixth floor lobby. The lobby was quite large square room with beige walls and four doors leading out of it. As we were in the middle of the building the lobby didn't have any windows, just art on the wall. Some calm landscapes that were painted by Hal, which I had learned a few months ago when I was here the last time. Four couches were placed in the middle of the room with a small coffee table full of magazines, the majority gun magazines and since I arrived the latest Cosmo was always there, in the middle. I had seen that many of the men read it too, always denying it. A soft cream rug was on the floor and the familiar smell of Ella's cooking lingered in the room. One of the doors led to Ella's and Luis' apartment, one to Bobby's office and the second to the infirmary. The remaining door lead to a small closet Bobby held his medical stuff in. Lester held the infirmary's door open for us and Bobby marched in.

I had been here so often that it was almost like a second home for me. The infirmary was large and open and light. The room was divided into three smaller rooms and the remaining space held three hospital beds with all the including monitoring devices. I could see that one of the beds was in use as the curtains were closed around it. I knew that Connie was in there sleeping and I tried not to make any noise. The walls were painted in baby blues, not the awful whites that gave me a migraine. The three rooms were to the side and the whole end wall had four large windows that illuminated most of the room. One of the rooms had an X-ray, the second an examination room and the third was the intensive care ward. On the other side of the room was a small door that leads to Bobby's office.

Bobby carried me to the examination room and put me down on the bed. Lester sat in the chair next to the bed and held my hand as Bobby put on some glove as and sat down on the chair in front of me and started to probe my foot. I didn't look at him but at Lester.

"Did you ask about my son?" I asked him and hoped that they had come to the conclusion that I was no threat to my son.

"Yeah, we thought that you could see him after Bobby's done fixing you up. We'll bring him here to see you; it's the easiest for all right now. You still think the same about seeing Ranger? The poor man's on the edge Beautiful." he said to me and squeezed my hand with a sad smile.

My heart grew when he said that I could see my son! I had missed him so much! But then he said that about Ranger and my heart sank. I didn't want to hurt him, but either way I did it would end up hurting him. If I didn't see him it would slowly kill him but if I saw him and didn't recognize him it would hurt him and kill me!

"Ehm, about that… I have something I want to ask you Bobby?"

He lifted his head and looked at me with eyes filled with curiosity and caring. I put his hand on my knee and nodded for me to continue. I felt nervous again and I wasn't sure if I could talk about his after all. I took my hand out of Lester's grasp and fidgeted with my fingers.

"Well… Is it normal to not remember people?" I whispered and looked down at my knees, not daring to look at Bobby or Lester.

"Yes it is honey, you might not remember everybody right away but the memories should come back after a while. Take for example Lester; you didn't recognize him until he triggered some memories in you. Don't worry!" he said and patted my knee. I didn't look up, trying to figure out how to tell the guys about Ranger.

"Ehm, how about when I can remember certain things about someone but can't remember how they look like?" I whispered and swallowed hard. I hoped that it was something that would go away with time.

"What do you mean Bomber?" Bobby asked and lifted my chin so that I was forced to look him in the eyes.

"It's Ranger. I can remember that he doesn't like desert and that he has a small scar on his shoulder blade. But I can't remember how he looks like and I don't want to see him, because if I don't recognize him it'll kill him and me too and then who will look after my _angelito!" _I was working myself into quite frenzy, not even noticing that I was standing and pacing and that Bobby was trying to get me to sit down.

"Bomber!" Bobby yelled and shook me by my shoulders. I was jerked back to reality and noticed that tears ran down my face. Bobby looked concerned and he and Lester guided me back to the bed. My hands were shaking and I was scared beyond my wits.

"Honey listen to me! All of this is normal; you just need to give it some time. It'll all get back to you, but you might want to think about why you don't remember him? Has he done something to upset you in any way before you went through this?"'

"No, I don't think so." I said and relaxed back to the bed. I was going to be okay, this was normal. I felt the burden disappear from my shoulders and it was easier to breathe. But Bobby's words rung in my head. Had Ranger done something to hurt me?

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_Pretty please? They give me the motivation to write!_


	17. Chapter 17

**This chapter is from Ranger's POV and is set before she goes up to sixth. I wanted to give you some Ranger as you all so kindly asked for it. I'm trying to write the next chapter ASAP, continuing from where we left of. I _suck_ at writing Rangers POV so please excuse me! Next chapter's going to be either Steph or Connie set in the sixth floor infirmary. Let me know which one you prefere!**

**Thanks for all your reviews and kind words, just checked; I have gotten 223 reviews for this story and I'm happy you keep on reading and reviewing my story! I can't even begin to say how thankful I am! Keep it up ladies!**

**As usual, none of this is actually mine...**

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**Ranger POV**

This torture was slowly killing me. Babe was sleeping with Lester in the apartment on fourth and I was sitting here alone up on the seventh floor watching the security feed from the fourth floor lobby making sure that nobody went in or out without me knowing. The slightly blue light from the computer screen illuminated my office, making it slightly eerie. The city's light streamed from the window, blending with the blinding blue.

I rubbed my chin, the two day old beard scratching my hand but I continued to rub even though it hurt. Lost in my zone, as babe called it, I continued to look at the screen but my mind was miles away. It felt like half of me was missing as I sat here alone, with the exception of the little bundle sleeping in the small crib I had bought for him. I smiled as I thought of him.

I had never thought that I would want to be a father but when Stephanie brought home him I felt my heart change. Now there were two persons who meant the world to me. The perfect mixture of me and babe, the son I couldn't imagine my life without anymore. Sighing slightly I stood up, stretching my back and legs after the long period of sitting. I made my way back to the bedroom and over to the crib and just stood there watching him sleep as I couldn't watch my babe sleep.

I was so worried about Stephanie! She was experiencing some memory loss I was told and that she tried to attack Lester. Thankfully he had had the training to deal with situations like this. I leaned against the wall and continued to watch my angel sleep as my thoughts lingered on the gorgeous woman sleeping with my cousin a few floors down. I was happy that Lester could comfort her but I wanted to feel her in my arms again, wanted to smell her again and hear her talk to me. I stayed there watching and thinking until the morning light came through the windows and my angel started to stir.

Picking him up, I made my way through the routine I was so used with. Grabbing my phone, I walked to the elevator picking up the diaper bag as I walked by it. I hit speed dial three as I waited for the doors to open.

"Yo."

"Yo, Bobby. Meet me at fourth in five?"

"Sure." he answered and I heard him move through his apartment. I hung up on him and smiled at the fact that our phone manners hadn't gotten any better even though Babe insisted that we improved them. I stepped out on sixth and walked over the lobby and knocked on the door to Ella's apartment. Ricardo giggled in my arms and slobbered on my shoulder but I just chuckled at him. Thankfully nobody saw me, with the exception of the man on monitor duty and I could bribe him to keep his mouth shut, this whole father-thing was ruining my image. But I didn't care; I loved the feeling of my son in my arms and loved hearing his voice. I bounced him slightly in my arms as Ella opened the door smiling broadly at me.

"Well hello!" She exclaimed and stepped back so that I could walk in. I smiled at my aunt and put down the diaper bag on the kitchen counter.

The apartment was large, taking up half of the floor, Bobby's medical center the other. When you walked in through the door you walk straight into the light living room. Three soft couches are on the other side of the room, by the huge glass windows. A fireplace was opposite the couches and a small TV was hung up above it. The rest of the wall was packed full with pictures of family, including me and Lester as we were young and naïve. A picture of the whole RangeMan was also on the wall, with smaller photos of Stephanie as well. The hardwood floors were covered with light rugs that were soft to the touch and children's toys were all over the floors. A huge kitchen was on the other side of the sitting area. Dark cabinets hung above the granite countertops that were always clean. I could smell the tomato soup boiling on the stove and I could see and smell the bread rising in the oven. I could hear soft snoring from the master bedroom on the other side from the door. I guess Luis was still asleep.

"I got to go and check on Stephanie and I wondered if you could take care of little Ric here for a few hours, tìa?"

She just smiled at me and took Ricardo out of my arms and I could immediately feel the void in my heart. I leaned in and kissed his forehead and nose and whispered _"__papá__estará de regreso__pronto.__Te quiero__mucho!" _(_**Daddy will be back soon, I love you so much!**_).

I knew that my aunt would take good care of my son but I felt empty in a way without him. The feeling was worse since I couldn't see my babe. I pushed my thoughts away as the elevator doors opened on fourth floor and I met Bobby. He had his RangeMan uniform on and his medical kit in his hands. We nodded and headed towards the door.

I knocked on the door quietly trying not to alarm Babe, but hard enough that Lester would hear me. Lester opened the door and looked tired. He ran his hand through his hair and leaned slightly on the door clearly listening for something. I listened too and could hear the water running; my Babe must be in the shower. A huge urge to join her hit me but I had to push it away.

"Yo." he said still listening to the sound of water hitting tiles. He looked once again back at the bathroom and then stepped out into the hall and closed the door slightly leaving it ajar.

"How's she?" I asked and I could see that he saw the pain in me. He had always seen it, maybe because we had grown up together and then served together.

"For the better, I think" He smiled. "She didn't try to kill me at least."

"That's a good sign." Bobby chuckled as I was at loss of words. "Is she complaining about some pain?"

The thought of my Babe in pain made me feel angry and worried; I didn't want her to have to deal with things like this! I knew I would do my best to make her feel good about herself again, as soon as she let me. I was going to kill the bastard who did this to Babe.

"Not that I've heard. She had a nightmare though, was totally out of it but I knew the medicine to that. I made her some hot chocolate and coffee cake."

I smiled at this; it was his way of dealing with things. Bobby laughed and I knew he was thinking about all the times we had sat in Lester's apartment, listening to him and eating the famous chocolate cake. Since my aunt and Lester's mother wasn't here Ella's coffee cake was the next best thing.

"Hey, it worked!" He exclaimed and smiled at us.

"Sure, I'm glad it did. Anyways back to business, could you ask if she wants to see either of us?" I said and cursed that my worry had slipped through to my voice and I saw that Lester heard it too.

As Lester closed the door behind him I fought the urge to pace. I stood still, with Bobby as still as me beside me. Minutes seemed to grow into hours and I could feel myself getting more anxious. Finally he came back but I could already see the news in his eyes.

"She wants to see you Bobby. She says she doesn't want to see you Ranger just yet but soon. She doesn't want you to see her like this."

I heard my heart break into tiny, tiny pieces as the door closed before my eyes. She wanted Bobby, not me.

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_Translation from google not taking any responsability if it's not correct_

_Leave me some thoughts ?_


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! I tried to write from Connie's POV but desiced that it would be better at this stage to let Stephanie continue, but not to worry; Connie will be telling her story soon!**

**Anyways, thanks for the reviews and kind words, they make me smile!**

**Not mine (surprice!)**

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**Stephanie's POV**

My x-rays told us that I had indeed a hairline fracture in my ankle and after Bobby put a cast on it and my cuts were properly cleaned I was put down on the bed next to Connie. The curtains were still closed and I could hear the irritating beep of the heart rate monitor. I leaned back and watched Bobby work. It was quite fascinating actually, he moved with such a grace all over the room carrying files and equipment. Lester had gone to fetch my son and I was waiting patiently, staring at the door.

And then the door opened. Lester walked in, talking softly to the baby in his arms. My heart stopped and my arms reached out to him, like it was the last life line, the last rope that held me from falling over the edge and falling to my death. As soon as my skin touched his I felt myself smile wider than I had never before.

"Oh God, mommy's missed you so much Angelito!" I exclaimed and placed a kiss on his forehead and nose as he giggled and reached for my cheeks. I could feel the happy tears run down my face and I laughed. At this moment I didn't care about anything else than the feeling of him in my arms.

Bobby brought me a crib a while later when I was looking at my sleeping son in my arms. I thanked him and watched him smile at me and explain that he needed to go check things out and that his sister would be here if something happened. I had met his sister before and I had only positive feelings about her. She was nice and I liked her. She was as kind and warm as Bobby was and we had clicked instantly.

About an hour later she came in and helped me to put angelito in his crib so that I could rest. I missed the feeling of him in my arms but felt the need to sleep. Turning to my right side I could look at him when he slept in his bed beside me. I felt the constant beeping lull me back to sleep.

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I was jerked awake by a nightmare. I sat quickly up in my bed, almost ripping out the IV. My breathing was heavy as I could still feel the hands on me and rubbed my arms trying to get rid of the feeling. The infirmary was calm and quiet, the monitors making the exception. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning and I couldn't go back to sleep. I rested my head on the pillow, lifting the bed so that I could sit easily. I glanced to my side and my heart skipped a beat at my son's cuteness. He slept with his butt in the air, a thumb in his mouth making sucking noises. I smiled at him and felt my being relax and for once I felt fine after the accident.

I let my eyes roam around the room. It was totally quiet on the floor, a small beam of light came from underneath Bobby's offices door. I knew that Bobby's sister Cindy would be in there reading as she usually did during the night. She would come out and keep me company but I didn't want to disturb her as I was perfectly happy in being here alone with my angelito. The city was dark outside the windows as everybody was resting for the next hectic day. All the perfect 'Burg wives would lay awake thinking about recepies they were doing the next day, the men thinking about how they would get away with their daily visit in the no-tell-motel by route 1.

As I sighed and turned away from the windows I saw a single red rose on my bedside table. Underneath the rose was a paper and I picked it up and opened it. The scent of the letter lingered and I couldn't quite figure out where I knew it from. It smelled… sexy? Pushing it away I focused on the words written on the paper.

_Hi. _

_I don't really know what I'm supposed to write but I felt this overpowering urge to tell you how I feel and since you don't want to see me yet I thought this was the next best thing. I haven't written a letter since I was a kid and it's because of that this feel so weird. But back to the business, I love you. I really do and I mean it this time. No exceptions. If you want a ring, I'll give it to you. I've been so stupid before. I love you so much I thought it was impossible, you are the air I breathe and the soul I was missing even though I didn't know it before now. You and our son are the only reasons for me to wake up in the mornings and you make my day lighter and happier. _

_Even though we haven't been together a long time I feel this is the thing. I love you and I hope you love me too but if you don't I'm going to accept it. You are my life, and I want to give you everything I have. All my possessions and my soul and heart even though you have had them since day one. Remember the first time we saw each other? You were just a little girl and I was a scary thug and still you trusted me. I'm still perplexed about that, every time I met new persons they would flinch away or be scared. You weren't._

_I know I can't tell you everything about my work but I want to share the things I can with you. For the first time in my life I want to tell you about my day and I want to hear about yours. I want to grow old with you and I want to give you everything you want, even the moon from the sky. _

_I'm going to stop rambling now. You know where to find me if you need me. Love you, Babe!_

_Love, your Batman_

Babe? Batman? Babe, babe, babe… Babe?

_Babe!_

It all came back to me, everything. The first time we met, the first time I saw him apprehend a skip, the first time up to seventh, the magical night. I was paralyzed on the bed, my breathing irregular. I sat up and swung my legs over the bed and flinched slightly as the cold tiles hit my bare foot and leaned over to the wall and took my crutches. I got up, wobbling only slightly and took one cautious step towards the door as quietly as I could not wanting to wake Ric up. I was pulled back by the IV and I cursed it underneath my breath and yanked it away. I wobbled to Cindy's door and probably gave her a heart attack when I opened it.

"Look after Ric for a little while. I'm going up to seventh." I said and closed the door, and with one last glance back to my son I wobbled out of the infirmary and into the elevator that took me up to seventh.

I couldn't believe how I could have forgotten how he looked like. Now it was burned to my brain, the thing I saw when I closed my eyes, the thing I thought about. His full lips, his jaw line and those eyes. Those brown eyes that turned black when he was aroused and the eyes you could get lost in, the eyes that gave me peace.

The elevator doors opened and I wobbled through the hall and to his door breathing quickly. What if he didn't want me here? I pushed those thoughts away and brushed my knuckles against the door, not wanting to wake Ranger up if he was sleeping. I held my breath and grabbed my crutches harder to keep me up. Then the door opened and a tired man looked out. His eyes lit up when he realized who was disturbing him at this hour.

"Hi Batman!"

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_Leave me some thoughts?_


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey again! Can't believe this new muse of mine, he's so great! Anyways, here's chapter number 19!**

**Thanks for the reviews! You guys make it all worth it!**

**Not mine**

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**Stephanie's POV**

"Babe?" the tentative word was all he had time to say before I threw myself to him, hugging him tightly and kissing him with all my power. He started to kiss me back, after he realized what was going on, the passion in the kiss threatening to burn me alive. After what felt like eternity I pulled away and allowed us both breathe. Ranger leaned his forehead against mine as we both breathed hard, still loss for words.

"Babe." he breathed and kissed me again, like a man who hadn't drank in weeks finally getting his hand son a water bottle. I leaned in against him and felt him lift me into the apartment kicking the door shut behind him and leaning me against the door. I breathed in the delicious smell of him mixed with the sweet smell of his shower gel, the smell that had radiated from the letter he had sent me.

"Oh Ranger!" I moaned as his lips connected with my collarbone, his tongue licking the place he had just kissed. I placed my lips on his shoulder and kissed him with passion as I felt his hands make their way to my ass. Fear kicked in and bit down hard as the memory of the last pair of hand that had touched me there washed over me. I was so deep in the memory that I barely heard the noise Ranger made as my teeth sank into his shoulder.

"Babe?" His worried voice made his way to my scrambled brain and I opened my eyes that I hadn't even noticed I had closed. His concerned eyes met mine and I realized that I was shaking violently. He lifted his hand to my cheek very carefully and slowly as if he tried not to scare me. His thumb brushed away something wet from my cheek and I realized that I was crying. "Are you alright? Did I do something to hurt you?"

I struggled to find my voice and some words to say to him but I couldn't find any. He looked at me and picked me, carried me to his white couch and sat me down in his lap. I leaned my head into his neck and breathed in the relaxing smell of him. He spoke Spanish to me and rubbed small circles on my back. We sat there not moving for an eternity. After my eyes dried he held me at arm's length and looked at me with worry.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" He asked and forced me to look at him not at my hands.

"No, but I think I might have to." I whispered and prayed for strength to get through this. I fiddled with my hands and bit down on my lip. I knew that I had to tell him sometime and I couldn't hide my flashbacks long.

"Well… When I got to the house Morelli opened the door for me and got me inside. But he wasn't alone, there was this group of men too and they had Connie. What I found out was that Connie's family had done something to this group of men so they took Connie to make a point. I was told that Morelli owned money to the group and they had him call me and get me there. Turns out that one of my skips was one of the men's son, and they didn't think it was fair having me out there when he was in jail… "

I felt sick as I thought about those moments I had spent with them. All those screams that held me up at night, all that fear trapped inside me and beyond that; the anger pulsating through my veins. I was going to find the men who did this and I was going to hurt them like they had hurt me. I was going to make them cry and beg for help only to endure more pain. But now I needed to continue.

"They weren't happy with me at all. They did all sorts of things to me and Connie but then a shot was heard. As the men scrambled to the door and to Morelli who had been shot, I got to my feet and dragged Connie with me and we ran for our lives. We ran for so long and I remember being so scared. Oh, Ranger I was so terrified!" I exclaimed and buried my face to his neck, hiding myself from the anger that radiated from his body.

"Don't ever say that, Babe! I'm not angry at you, I'm angry with the bastards who did this to you. I could never be angry at you!" He said and hugged me closer, confirming my fear that I had talked out loud again. "I love you so much and I'll be here for you and I'll do whatever you want me to do. I love you, babe, more than my own life."

"I love you too Ranger." I said and felt my eyes go watery again. I couldn't believe that I deserved a man like this who loves me and supports me. It was the first time in my life when somebody besides my father loved me unconditionally. Joe didn't, he cheated and wanted me to change. Dick, well he wanted everybody else but me; even Joyce. But here I was, all screwed up and still he showed me love and comfort. I didn't deserve anything like this.

"Yes you do. Now it's late, do you want to go back to bed?" he said and I just nodded not trusting my voice. He picked me up and sat me down at my side of the bed and tucked me in.

"I'll be right back, I'll go get Ricardo if that's okay with you?" he said and my heart grew at the sight of him. I nodded, still not trusting my voice and sat up. I pulled the coverts up to my neck and asked if Range could turn the lights on as he left. I didn't want to be alone in the darkness of the night. He just nodded at me and with a kiss he hurried out of the apartment switching the lights on as he left.

I could hear my pulse skyrocket and I took the gun Ranger kept on the bedside table in my hands. With minutes ticking away I sat there staring at the door, listing to the faintest sound. Then after what felt like an eternity, he door opened and I heard Rangers voice telling me it was him. I sat the gun down and heard him make his way to the bedroom with our son, sleeping soundly in his arms. He had my crutches with him; I guess we had left them outside. He lowered Ricardo back into his crib, sat down my crutches beside me and then crept into the bed and pulled me closer to him. I felt him kiss the top of my head and then sigh.

"Let's sleep Babe and worry about tomorrow in the morning."

I relaxed into him and felt safe for the first time in a long time. I hugged his hand that held me close and smiled. This was my heaven. I fell asleep with the same smile on my lips.

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_Want to leave me somthing?_


	20. Chapter 20

**Is it wrong to think about Batman during a Zumba lesson?**

**Anyways, here's the following chapter, and it's a Ranger POV. A bit of Batman-action was something I wanted to do, so enjoy!**

**Thanks for all those lovely reviews! I hope this chapter answers some of your questions!**

**Not mine**

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**RANGER POV**

I woke up early in the morning, the sleep deprivation couldn't get a hold of me now, I had so much that I needed to do before my Babe woke up. I got up as quietly as I could and snuck out of the bedroom picking little Ric up as I walked by. He had started to stir and I didn't want him to wake her up. He calmed as soon as I picked him up, gazing at me with his sleepy eyes. He knew what would happen; we had done this so many times. I walked to the kitchen and picked up a bottle of milk and warmed it up as I took a look around.

I was so furious with all of this! How did anyone dare to rape my Babe, my woman as she was called on the streets? She was my girlfriend and the mother of my child and yet some unsuspecting bastards had dared to attack her. As soon as Babe had fallen asleep I had texted my core team to meet me this morning on seventh to discuss the plan. I wanted to hurt these bastards so much, it was the worst rage I had ever felt. This was personal.

I carried Ric around as I fed him and changed him and dressed him. He brought me some kind of comfort I this mess and I was thankful of it too. I knew that if he wasn't here I would be smashing walls and furniture. Luis had replaced my walls too many times, every time she was hurt I would go crazy. But now with my son, I was calmer and I could focus my anger in the right things.

As soon as I had put the last sock on I heard the subtle knock on the door that signaled that my friends were here. I picked Ric up who was chewing on a toy and walked to the door and opened it. I gave the sign to be quiet to them and made way as they marched in. They all took their places around the kitchen table and sat down. Bobby took a sip of the bottle I had placed in front of everybody. I sat down at the end and looked at my men. They had had my back in so many situations that I had lost count by now.

Tank had pulled me out of burning house with a broken foot, Lester had saved me from a sniper lying on a roof and Bobby had patched me up so many times when I had gotten hurt. I had saved them many times too, but I didn't count those times. I knew that they would have my back and they knew that I would have their backs as a friend and as a boss. Ric giggled in my lap and pulled everybody out of their thoughts. Lester chuckled.

"Going all soft there man?"He laughed but I saw in his eyes that he just joked. I grinned at him, not caring about my image at this point.

"I love it man, you should try it sometimes too." Lester laughed harder as the thought of settling down hit him. I knew that he had the material in him but that he needed to find the right girl first. Although I had seen the look he gave one of the nurses as ST Francis. I smiled knowingly at him. Tank cleared his throat.

"I assume that we are here to discuss Bomber?" he asked and looked at the bedroom door. The room as all quiet as we listened if she would be awake yet. The soft sound of her breathing let us know that that wasn't the case yet.

"You assume right Tank. She told me yesterday that there had been a group of men at the house and that they had attacked her and Connie." I watched as their jaws clenched and I could feel the tension radiated through the room. These men loved her like a little sister and I knew that they would do anything to find the bastards who did this to my Babe.

"I suspect that she has been raped." Bobby said in a soft voice. He looked very upset, almost as upset as me. "I was there yesterday to clean her wounds and found that she had hand-shaped bruises on her thighs and chest. She covers them up pretty good, that's why I hadn't spotted them before."

"She confirmed that to me as well. The men hurt her violently and I want them found so that we could teach them how to behave around women." I said and bounced Ric on my lap to distract me from my murderous thoughts. He giggled and I saw the men all smile at the sweet sound of his laughter. I knew that my son had captured their hearts.

"I have talked to my contacts and they confirm that the group of men isn't local, that they had come from the west coast. Mob ties as well." Lester said to me. I nodded to him.

"She told me that they had connections to the Family here, that's why they had Connie as well. But the interesting fact is that Morelli wasn't killed by these men, but by an outsider. So it's likely that we have two things to look for."

"Sure thing Boss." Bobby said and stood up looking at the watch. "I should be going if there isn't anything else? Connie still needs care and then Junior drove like a maniac to get to the airport and crashed. Don't worry it's nothing serious, just a broken wrist. I need to stabilize it before he thinks that's to no use and walks from the infirmary."

I shook my head as it wouldn't be the first time. Junior was notorious from his driving skills and tendency of "walking it off". Nothing bad about that; if it only weren't a broken foot he was trying to fix. Ric slobbered on my shirt; I needed to change my shirt before I went downstairs.

"It's okay, you go…" was the only I had the time to say before we all heard a heartbreaking scream from the bedroom. The men jumped into action, I gave my son to the waiting hands of Bobby and took my gun. We all ran to the door and stared right into a gun.

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_Oh the drama! Leave me your thoughts angels! :)_


	21. AN

I'm so, so sorry but I need to take a small pause in my writing due to some problems in my personal life. I'm dealing with some major issues at home and with myself and I don't think it's fair to post some shit that I'm not pleased with_ at all_. I hate to keep you waiting but then on the other hand I can't write like, _anything_ right now. I hope you are not too upset with me. I'm trying hard to fix this situation.

I'm so sorry!

_-Love, Zofia_


	22. Chapter 22

_Hey guys! I'm back, sort of. This chapter was bugging me so I needed to get it out, sorry it's a little short. I'm not sure if I'll be able to update regulary, as I'm still battling with me and I don't want to update some crap. I'm so thankful for all your support, and I'm sorry that I didn't answer to the reviews as I was in a really, really dark place then and didn't know what to say to you as you were all so kind to me. _

_AS allways, I thank you for the reviews and kind words. They truly mean the world to me, expecially now. _

_I hope you like this chapter eventhough it's quite short. _

_ Not mine._

**_This chapter is quite dark and terrible, just to warn you_**

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SPOV

I was running through a very dark forest. The shadows were long and the colors were in dark blues and blacks so that the forest looked ice cold. And I felt cold, oh so cold. I looked down at my body and realized that I was only wearing some underwear and spotted the angry red marks on my body. I felt like I was suffocating and raised my hand to my throat only to realize that somebody's hand was choking me and preventing any sound. Quickly I turned around, but my foot got caught on a root and I fell down. The hand disappeared and I quickly got up to continue the running. I knew that I had to run but I didn't realize where I was. I heard some loud footsteps surround me from every side and I felt sick. I knew they were coming, I knew what they would do. The fear was overpowering and I felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest preventing me from breathing. I spun around, trying to get away from the men surrounding me. I couldn't see them, but I felt their presence. They were there to get me.

The forest was closing in on me and it was harder to squeeze past the trees, they were growing to close together. I couldn't see where I was going as a heavy fog had appeared out of the blue and was preventing me to see any more than a few feet in front of me. The hand was back but I could see that it was only a hand, not attached to anything. As I tried to breathe deeply it tightened its grip and prevented me from breathing at all. I was feeling so horrible, I needed to get away and I knew that if I ran long enough I would find the merry men. They were here somewhere and I could find them!

The men was closing in on me and now I could see their haunting faces in the dark forest, looking at me and laughing at my attempts to get away. They had flashlights and their light lit up me as I ran deeper into the forest. My feet were getting colder and I could see that they were turning black. I tried to scream but my voice was muffled and my feet were getting slower, I couldn't run anymore. I stumbled into a tree and held on for dear life as I tried to breathe and move my legs, not succeeding in either. I took one step forward, trying to get as far away from the men as possible.

I sank into quicksand and couldn't move at all. The sand was pressing me making little stars in my vision and I knew that I was going to die and I was thankful that the men hadn't gotten me. As my head sank under the sand I felt sad that I hadn't had the chance to say to Ranger that I loved him.

I felt somebody yanking on my hair and I was pulled up from the sand. Thankfully the hand which was choking me hadn't gotten up and I was free to breathe. I looked at person who had picked me up from the sand and relaxed as the man had a RangeMan uniform. Then I looked at his face and screamed when I realized that the man was one of my captors. The man just laughed at me and threw me against a tree and all the five men leered over me and laughed. They spit on me and to my horror I saw that the man with the uniform was taking his pants off.

"I'm going to show you a real man, not something like that loser Manoso." He laughed and pulled me by my hair closer. "I'm going to fuck your brains out little girl and I'm going to do it again and again and again until you die!"

I screamed and screamed and jolted up from a strange bed. Where was I? The men had probably taken me to their house and they were going to kill me after they raped me over and over again. I stopped screaming as I heard movement from the next room. I reacted quickly and found a gun on the bedside table. Thank God it was loaded. I moved so that I could shoot the men as they walked in.

As I expected they came soon, all four of them. I was so scared that I couldn't look at their faces, my brain only recognizing the uniforms. RangeMan black on all four. They were here to kill me unless I didn't kill them first.

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_Reviews?_


	23. Chapter 23

**_HEY! It's been forever! I'm sorry for that (as I always am)!_**

**_It's kinda strange to write, as I haven written a Babe-sentence in a month! I don't know if I'll be posting anytime soon, I writting when my muse wants to. Hopefully you'll like it and leave me some comments!_**

**_I love you all and your reviews! They keep me coming back :)_**

**_It's really not mine_**

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"Babe?" The leading man in black said to me and as suddenly as it began I realized that I almost shot Ranger and the core team. I gasped in shock and the gun flopped on the messy bed and bounced onto the soft carpet. Ranger slowly lowered his hands and signaled to Tank to get the gun. I felt something wet on my cheeks and realized that I was crying.

"I… I'm... I can't believe!" I gasped as my feet gave up underneath me and I rumbled into Ranger's waiting arms. I sobbed my disbelief into his chest, letting the pain pour out of my heart as I for the first time thought the painful hours over in my heart. I had never let these memories surface and the rest of the world disappeared as I cried into Ranger.

Oh those hands, I felt them on my skin. Those words, I could still hear them ringing in my head. The loathing, it still made me feel impure. The smell, made me still sick. The cries, the cries that made no difference, still shook my body. All the evil made my head pound. All the evil thoughts I thought under those hours I could still hear in my ears. All the bad were suffocating me from the inside and I felt dead, unable to feel anything else but fear and anger. Ranger was going to hate me now, I was a wreck, an empty shell of my former me. They succeeded in breaking me, just as they promised. I was ruined for everybody. I was dead.

My hands hurt from my death grip on Rangers shirt and I tried to release my fingers but couldn't make them move at all. The elephant was back on my chest and the sobs shook my body, making it jerk like I was being electrocuted. I felt Ranger's feeble attempts to calm me down, the Spanish words not registering in my head. The hand on my back only making my horror worse.

"Oh dear lord…" was the only coherent thing that came out of my mouth as I was having an out of body experience. I couldn't see and hear anymore I was just engulfed in these massive arms and by guilt. I was a lousy person, I nearly shot my friends and my love and I was a constant threat to my son. I was the danger in his life I was afraid of. I was a horrible mother and I couldn't help but to hear my own mothers voice in my ears ringing confirming my believes that I was an unfit mother. That I could never become more than Ranger's whore. He only wanted me for sex; there was nothing else that I could offer him.

I was shaken back to the reality by the massive arms wrapped around me only seconds ago.

"Now you'll stop that Babe." Ranger said to me raising his voice. He was angry and he stared at me. "You will stop hurting yourself like this! You are a perfect mother, and woman. You are the woman I fell in love with and still am in love with. You will become the mother of many more children of mine and I promise to love you until you die. You are not a whore Stephanie. You are the air I breathe."

I just looked into his brown eyes and saw the hurt, love and truth behind them. I felt the doubt leave me and finally I was able to move my fingers and end the death grip on his shirt. I smoothed the wrinkles, lowering my gaze but still could feel his eyes on me. I was overwhelmed by the sudden outburst of emotions and lowered my head on his chest. I was tired, my sleep rudely interrupted by the nightmare.

"I love you too Carlos." I whispered to his chest and his arms wrapped around me pulling me closer. I inhaled his sweet scent and felt calm and sane. The sweet moment of ours was interrupted by a cough from the door. I had forgotten that the guys were standing there.

"We'll leave you alone for a moment." Tank said and pulled a grinning Lester away from the door. I shook my head.

"I'm sorry." I sighed into Ranger's chest.

"Don't worry about it. You're not the first one to act out after nightmares. "He answered and sat down on the bed pulling me down on his lap. I snuggled closer and he rested his head on top of my head.

"Have you?" I whispered. I felt him chuckle.

"Yes, I have too. But I'm not the one with the juiciest story to tell."

"Then who is?" I asked, my curiosity taking over.

"Bobby and Lester have this story I know you'll love. Let's get you a pair of pants and let's go to the living room so you can ask them about that incident." Ranger was positively chuckling so I knew the story must be very good. I let Ranger get me some pants and after I pulled them on I hesitated whether I should take the gun with me.

"Take it if you want it babe." Ranger said and motioned towards the gun. "You don't have to if you don't want to, the rest of us are armed to the teeth."

I thought about it and left the gun on the bed. I took Ranger's hand and we walked out to the living room where Bobby and Tank were watching a game on the television and Lester was playing with little Ric on the floor with his toys. Ric's laughter was contagious and soon we all laughed like we were mad.

"So I heard there was a story I needed to hear?" I asked as soon as I sat down in Rangers lap in the arm chair. Tank burst out laughing and Ranger chuckled but Lester and Bobby paled under their tans.

"Uhm… Are you sure you want to hear it? It's really not that funny, and I can tell you some funny shit. One time we were in this club and then…."

"Santos, just tell the damn story!" Tank barked and clapped Lester's back. It's been a while when I heard this story!"

I was truly curious now; I wanted to hear this story that made Lester this uncomfortable. He pressed his lips together and motioned Bobby to begin.

"It was a few nights after a mission gone horribly FUBAR; we got bad Intel and I'm not going to even start with the other issues. Anyways, we got home and none of us were seriously hurt. So the other guys decided to throw a "Welcome home" party involving a lot of alcohol. One after one we passed out right here in this apartment. Tank was tired and he fell asleep on the couch, Ranger didn't drink too much and went to his room to sleep off the little he drank. So I and Lester thought that we'd continue. After about three AM, we both passed out on the floor, me in the kitchen and Lester in the bathroom. "

"Then came the next morning. Ranger had woken up early and took Tank with him to go for a run. After a while I really needed to go to the bathroom and rushed there. Too bad Lester was having a bad dream and had found the gun Ranger had hidden in the bathroom. Long story short, he got scared and shot me."

"Oh my god! Where did he shoot you?" I asked truly horrified and wondered why everybody else's thought it was funny. Bobby turned bright red and muttered something. I couldn't hear him at all. Tank was dying of laughter on the couch.

"What?"

"I managed to turn around when I saw the gun but wasn't fast enough." Bobby muttered and shot a dirty look at Lester.

"Did he shoot you in your ass?" I asked and giggled a little. Bobby was looking at the floor and Lester was "busy" with Ric. "Oh my God, he shot you in the ass!"

"He sure did." Ranger chuckled and hugged me closer. "And that's not all. When I came home later I found Lester in the bathroom still_** asleep **_and Bobby on the closet door with a bloody ass and vomit on my new Italian shoes and a bullet in the closet door!"

Tank was booming of laughter as was Ranger and I couldn't help but to join in. Soon the laughter died.

"The bullet hole is still in the door just to remind me that I should never ever try to wake my cousin up if there's a gun in that room." Ranger said and pulled me up. We walked into the closet and I looked at the hole in the door. I had always wondered why it was there.

I looked up from the door and my laughter died as soon as I glanced at rows after rows of black clothing. It brought the most vital piece of information from the dream back to me.

"What is it Babe?" Ranger asked me and looked worried.

"I didn't remember it before the dream but the men in the house wore RangeMan uniforms."

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_Reviews?_


	24. Chapter 24

_Hey girls and boys! Another post just in time for the new year!_

_I love you all and your reviews make my day. Please continue sending them to me! :)_

_Shockingly it's not mine_

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"What do you mean babe?" Ranger asked and his voice was deadly calm. I couldn't blame him at all, I would also be mad if I found out that some of my employees attacked Ranger. Not that that would end well for them, Ranger wouldn't need my help there.

I fidgeted with my hands and bit my lip. I mean in the dream they had black cargo pants and t-shirts but I didn't see the logo on them. Still I knew that they were from Rangeman or had stolen the clothes from somewhere.

"I'm sure that they were RangeMen or that they had stolen the clothes from somewhere. " I said to Ranger and saw that his brain was working overtime to get facts in line. I was quiet letting him take control of the situation.

"Okay. We have to tell this to the rest of the core team." He said and took my hand again and led me to the living room. The guys saw Ranger's face and they all got very serious and dropped what they were holding with the exception of Lester who picked up Ric and carried him over to me where I gratefully took him in my arms. It had been a long time since I held him last and this felt right. I felt my pulse drop back to normal rates and I calmed down as we sat down by the dining table. Ranger sat at the head of the table, I was on his left side with Ric, Lester was beside me, Tank was on Ranger's right side and Bobby beside him.

The guys were in security mode. I rocked Ric in my arms and felt him tuck in my hair. I smiled down at him and then focused on the meeting, still rocking him slowly in my arms.

"Stephanie told me just that she was sure that the guys in the house were wearing some RangeMan uniforms. So it's between two bad things, either we have some bad guys in the house or someone has been lazy and they have gotten their hands on his clothes. I hope it's the later one but we cannot rule the first one out. "

The guys looked worried and with one quick nod from Ranger they were all gone, stopping to give me and Ric kisses. I knew that they were so trained that they knew what their task was. I sighed a little and leaned on Rangers shoulder. He put his arm around me and rested his head on the top of my head. We stayed like this for a while but I felt the dread knot in my stomach. I knew what he wanted me to tell him and I didn't like the thought of that. I was in no mood to go through the mental and physical trauma I've been through.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me Babe, I understand if you want to talk to somebody else but I need you to tell us what when down at that house. We need to know what we're up against."

I sighed and looked down at Ric sleeping in my arms. I knew this would come some day but the queen of denial that I am I was hoping it would be later than sooner. I knew also that Ranger would want me to talk to him but I knew that it would be very hard for him to hear my story.

"Fine. But you have to promise me that you won't get too mad." I whispered and continued to rock Ric in my arms. Ranger kissed me on my head and brought me closer to him; I leaned in and breathed in his scent and warmth.

"I drove to that house and Joe opened the door for me. Then he led me to the back of the house and down to the cellar. As He opened the door I could hear that the merry men had arrived and I was worried about the sound of gun fire and men shouting. Joe pushed me down the stairs, luckily I didn't fall and we walked down to hell. There were men in black clothes all over the cellar, weirdly it wasn't as small as I had imagined. The walls were moist, brick walls and there was so much horrible horrible equipment on the floors and walls and on tables and then my heart sank as I saw Connie on the dirty floor and bloody. She was okay though, they weren't as angry with her as they were with me.

It started with punches and kicks. Then they got out the toys. Branding iron. Baseball bats, metal thingies. But that wasn't the worst, the worst was the words, and the taunting and the horrible things they said to me about you and about Ric and all the other merry men and at that point I was so broken that I wanted to die. But they didn't stop. I still hear in my dreams the sound of multiple zippers being opened. "

Silent tears ran down my face but I didn't break down completely. I knew that Ranger was angry, his fists closed about five minutes ago and I was worried that he might break his knuckles. I rocked the sleeping Ric in my arms and found myself healing. Nothing they did in that house mattered, all that mattered was the two men in this room right now. And the merry men. The threats on their lives and the threat of another attack seemed less possible as I was here in Rangers arms and miles away from the house. I was safe here and I planned on staying here.

"I would love that you stayed here forever." Ranger said to me, making me jump at the sudden noise. I don't know how long we'd been silent, both of us thinking about the horrors and the future.

"Then I'll stay." I said with new found confidence. This was my home, had been for a quite long time already. This was where I could relax and this was where I wanted to raise our son.

"I love you." Ranger said and lifted my chin so that he could kiss me. The kiss started out all sweet, tender and loving but escalated into a passionate kiss full of love and need. I moaned into the kiss and Ranger's hands moved; now holding my neck so that he had full access to my collarbone and neck. Biting softly into my sensitive spot, I had to suppress the urge to throw my hands around him and take him there.

"Oh, Carlos…" I moaned and put one of my hands on his chest.

"Yes Babe…" He answered and returned to his torturous kissing.

"Ric…" I moaned and Ranger lifted his head. Our son was still soundly asleep in my arms and he placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Let's take him to bed so that I can take you to bed." He whispered huskily. I took his hand as he led me to bed with our son.

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	25. Chapter 25

_Not mine._

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I woke up by a series of kisses placed on my body. I smiled into the pillow and felt his warm body melt into mine. I was happy here in these heavenly pillows and didn't want to get up. I rolled over and looked Ranger right in his melted chocolate eyes filled with so many emotions. His face was lit up by his gorgeous smile as he leaned down to kiss me again. I reached up and grabbed his hair and brought down his head deepening the kiss.

"Good morning!" I said as we parted for air. He rested his forehead on mine and placed a kiss on my nose.

"Good morning!" He said to me and rolled over on his back, pulling me on top of him. I laughed and sighed happily on his broad chest. I was glad that we had taken Ric to his new room; Ranger's old office, now we didn't wake him up during the night. He seemed still to be sleeping. I glanced at the watch on the bedside table and was shocked when it showed 9 o'clock.

"Don't worry babe." he murmured into my neck as he placed featherlike kisses on my collarbones and on my neck. "I brought him to Ella so that we could have some time alone this morning. I wanted you to get the chance of sleeping as it has been neglected during these few weeks."

I melted back to his chest as he found a sweet spot on my shoulder. I never stopped being amazed by his thoughtfulness. He seemed to be on top of everything as far as I could tell.

"I love you"" I said to him as I pushed up on my arms and placed a passionate kiss on his lips. After a few minutes I broke for air and jumped out of the bed. Ranger looked puzzled as he laid on the bed with his hair falling freely and the sheets loose on his hips.

"I'm taking a shower, care to join me?" I purred at him and watched his eyes go darker. I turned around and sashayed into the bathroom, listening to his light footsteps on the soft carpet. I smiled as I was turning the water on and felt him press himself against me.

"My, my, aren't we happy to see me?" I murmured and smiled. My smile turned into a moan as he bit down on my shoulder.

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I pulled my wet hair back into a ponytail as Ranger went downstairs to get Ric. I couldn't erase the stupid smile on my face, finally after giving up on the attempts I put on my mascara, twice because I had a feeling that things would get ugly today. While twisting the cap, I heard the door open and close. I made my way into the living room just as Ranger walked in with Ric in his arms. Ric was quietly assessing the new space, he was truly his father's son. I smiled at them both and took Ric in my arms, making my way to the kitchen with Ranger right behind me. I sat down at the table and fed Ric as I watched Ranger make his way around the kitchen, making us something to eat.

"So… What's up for today?" I asked him as I made sure that Ric was eating properly. Ranger didn't stop for a beat as he carried coffee, fruit salad, some sandwiches and juice to the table. He, too, seemed happy. He was smiling all the time and his whole posture radiated happiness.

"Well… The guys are working on the clothes and following other leads." he said carefully. "Tank is managing the day-to-day business so we're not really needed on fifth, but I heard that Bobby wants to do a check-up on you later today or tomorrow."

I was still processing this information as Lester barged through the door. I dropped my sandwich, Ranger drew his gun and Ric continued to eat. Right behind Lester came Bobby and Tank, who knocked on the open door.

"Santos! What the hell were you thinking! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Ranger yelled at him as he holstered his gun. Bobby shut the door and murmured something like _"He doesn't think, that's the problem"._ Tank looked slightly amused. "Mat's tomorrow at seven!"

I picked up my sandwich from the table and sipped on my juice as the guys sat down.

"I'm sorry boss man." Lester said and grabbed a sandwich. "I just have some major news to tell you guys." he looked like he might start to jump up and down like a child, he was that excited.

"Well?" I asked, feeling some of this excitement.

"I checked the video footage at the drycleaners we use and found out that after Binkie left his clothes there, there was a robbery. Binkie's clothes went missing."

"Why didn't he rapport that?" Ranger asked.

"He didn't notice it." Lester answered and smiled. "He used his back-up uniform and didn't think about his laundry until this morning. He is already prepared to meet you at the mats tomorrow."

Tank gave one hard chuckle and continued drinking his coffee. I couldn't help but to smile. I knew that the guys loved and respected Ranger to the extremes, they were for Gods sakes prepared to die for him. Ranger's hand snuck behind my back, bringing me closer to him. I leaned my head against his shoulder and looked right at Lester who was smirking at us.

"What are you smiling about?" I asked him and looked him straight in the eyes without blinking. "I'm sure Ranger doesn't mind telling me and the boys downstairs some mighty embarrassing stories about you if you don't stop smirking at us."

Lester's smile vanished and his features got hard. "You wouldn't dare!" he said to Ranger but I could feel him chuckling.

"You bet I would cuz." he said and we watched Lester's face go white.

"Anyways." Tank interrupted us. I could see that he was hiding a smile. "What are we going to do? The boys downstairs checked the video footage and matched the robber to a Marcus Daniels. His brother Thomas is currently in jail. He skipped bond last year and Bomber brought him in. Guess they are a bit pissed about that. Hal searched further and found that the owner of the house where Steph was in is John Daniels, Marcus' cousin."

"Get the teams together." Ranger said and I felt his change from home-Ranger to work-Ranger. "I'll be down in five."

They stood up and Ranger placed a kiss on the top of my head as he turned around and made his way to the closet. Lester and Tank was already gone but Bobby stayed at the table.

"If you don't mind I'll keep you company today?" He said and I smiled. It was good to have somebody here with me so that I didn't worry myself sick alone. I knew this was going to be a long day.

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